Second Chances
by The Lady Mage
Summary: For almost a year, Selene and Michael have managed to live peacefully, but will this new group bring that peace to an end, or perhaps give them a second chance at happiness? -AU, WIP- CHAP 18 UP!
1. Chapter 1

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
This idea has been playing around in my head for quite some time, but my muse, the lovely vampiress Zosia, has only now gotten off her butt to help me type it up! Lazy muses . . . Anyway, it's gunna have some FLUFF, some OUT-OF-CHARATER-ED-NESS, and a few ORIGINAL CHARACTERS just for flavor. Ratings are subject to change, but I'll post at the top when it does, so no worries! Read, enjoy, review!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld, nor do I own any of its characters. Thank you.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
It was nearing three in the morning in the streets of the little town just outside of Munich, Germany. Earlier, during the day, the skies had opened up and it had been pouring bitterly cold rain ever since. The streets were slick with the liquid, and the air was chilled almost to the point of freezing, but still they ran. Chased from their warm home, they ran for safety and shelter.   
  
"Hurry!" Michael put his hand to the middle of Selene's back, using his momentum to speed her up. He dared to glance back over his shoulder to the group of Death Dealer's chasing them. They were only a block or so behind them now.  
  
"Get them!" shouted their hunters. "Don't let them get away!"   
  
"I can't run much longer!" huffed the vampiress. Michael could feel her slowing as she spoke, his speed was to much for her. Before she could fall, he scooped her up into his arms. The same instant, he let the change come over him, increasing his speed and making the woman in his arms feel no heavier than a cloud.  
  
With newfound speed and stamina, he managed to get farther ahead of the Death Dealers, turning down a different alleyway. He scanned the buildings as he ran, looking for a place to hide.  
  
Selene pointed to a little wooden door set back into the brick building to their right. "In there!"   
  
He hurred into the door's recess, quickly breaking the lock off the door. He set Selene to her feet, then as quickly and quietly as humanly- or rather, inhumanly- possible, the two slipped inside, hurrying down the stairs and into the room below. They found themselves in a large wine cellar. Shelves lined the walls, stacked with bottles. The floor was stacked high with a maze of wine crates.  
  
"This way." Selene said, taking Michael's hand and leading him to the back corner of the room. A little closet was nearly hidden by the wooden boxes. "In here."  
  
Michael nodded, pulling open the door. Inside was lined with shelves of empy bottles that many a spider had decorated with their webs. Selene slipped in, paying the webs no mind, and Michael followed her, pulling the door shut behind them. They stood in silence, listening to the sounds around them- listening for the Death Dealers. After a few minutes passed with no noise, they relaxed.  
  
"Here. We'll sit and rest a moment." Michael murmered, sitting down on the floor. Gently, he pulled her down into his lap, seating her with him, and wrapping his arms protectively around the growing swell of her stomach. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yes." she answered quietly. "They didn't get near us." She pulled her duster tighter around her, but it no longer closed over her stomach; there was almost five inches across between the edges of her coat.  
  
Michael moved his arms down to warm the exposed area. "We must get you some new clothes soon." he observed, whispering into her ear.  
  
"Later." she muttered, ears still straining to hear anything suspicious. "Right now, we just have to get away from the Death Dealers."  
  
"I don't hear anything. I think they've gone."   
  
"We should stay here." Selene said, warrior mode. "Just until we're certain. Then, we'll find a hotel somewhere- we can't go home."  
  
Michael shook his head. No, they couldn't go home, back to the little apartment they'd been so comfortable in for the past five months. "We'll get a little room somewhere, and during the day, I'll go and bring some of our things back: some clothes, some blood. I don't think they know exactly where we were."   
  
"Still, it is a big risk now that they have found us."   
  
"We'll leave again. We'll go to France- to Paris." he murmered, tilting his head so that his face rested against her neck. "We'll make a new nest somewhere safe."  
  
"There is nowhere safe." Selene grumbled, turning so that she sat across his lap. She laid her head down on his shoulder and let her eyelids flutter closed as she held in a yawn. "We'll be running forever."  
  
"No, we won't." he answered determinedly. "I'll find someplace safe for you and the baby. I swear it on my life, Selene." When he received no answer, he looked down to the vampiress in his lap. She was fast asleep, her run having tired her. He gently reached up and brushed her hair from her face. "I will, Selene." he whispered. "I promise you."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
No one really paid him much mind as he walked down the wet streets with Selene asleep, cradled in his arms. Few were up this early- and early it was for the sun would be rising within the hour- but those that were about were much to busy with their own lives to bother much with his.  
  
Michael carried her down the dirty street to a little hotel- a filthy, undesirable place, but the only place close enough unless he wanted to spend the day in the wine cellar. He entered the building and ordered a room from the surly man behind the front desk, then carried his mate up the stairs to room 6.  
  
A few blankets over the window provided enough protection from the sun, and they were on the south side of the building- out of the sun's direct light. He laid Selene on the bed and covered her with the leftover sheet, then headed out alone to retrieve their things. At the bottom of the stairs, he warned the man that his wife was not to be disturbed- no housekeeping, though he doubted anyone around here knew the meaning of the word, no courtesy calls, no nothing. He added a low, threatening growl at the end, just to be sure, before he took to the streets.   
  
The little apartment they had been in for the past five and a half months was all the way across town- a good long walk from the shabby hotel. He made it quickly enough, jogging most of the way. Up the stairs he climbed to the fourth floor, and stopped at the end of the hall as deja vu hit him right between the eyes.  
  
Their door had been kicked in, and now swung free on a single hinge. The Death Dealers had found their apartment- he could smell the intruders. There had been seven of them. Strangely enough, some scents were vampire, while others were lycan. Were both species after them now?  
  
He padded to the door, listening for activity inside. Once he was sure it was just him, he peeked inside, and the sight that greeted him was surprising to say the least.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, how was it? Do you like it? Hate it? Tell me in a review!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	2. Chapter 2

Greetings from The Lady Mage,  
  
Well, here's chapter two. Hope you enjoy!  
  
Rating: PG- just cause I say so.  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its characters. Thank you.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
He crept to the door, listening for activity in the apartment. Once he was sure it was just him, he peaked inside, and the sight that greeted him with surprising to say the least.  
  
Everything was exactly as it should be- the cardboard was still taped over the windows, the magazines were still stacked neatly on the coffee table, the vase of flowers still standing on the kitchenette counter. Nothing was disturbed.  
  
Without shutting the door behind him- what good would it have done since it didn't shut properly anymore anyway- he made his way to the little bedroom. The bed was still made, the closet door still open, their dirty clothes still on the floor near the hamper. It looked as though nothing had been touched at all.  
  
A little suitcase was pulled from beneath the bed, and Michael began to fill it with Selene and his things- their clothes, a few pictures they had taken, the book Selene was in the middle of reading, her perfume, his cologne, the thick wad of money taped underneath the bed. When everything was packed, he headed back to the common room, to the fridge. Selene would need blood when she awoke- lots of it to sustain both her and their baby.   
  
Four bags were stuffed into the case before it was zipped shut. When he shut the refridgerator door, a piece of paper fluttered down to his feet. He bent over and picked it up, unfolding it and skimming it over.  
  
"To Michael and Selene . . . " he mumbled as he read. He scowled, stuffing the note into his coat pocket. Selene could make more sense of it when she awoke. Right now, the important thing was for him to return to her as swiftly as possible, so that is what he did. He left the key to the apartment in the lock, turned off all the lights, and headed back into the streets.  
  
She was still asleep when he returned, but she awoke when he neared the bed, her instincts warning her somebody was close by. When she saw it was Michael, she turned on her side towards him. "Have you gone?"  
  
"Yes." he answered. "You were right. They know where we were living." A bag of blood was pulled from the suitcase and handed to her. She sat up to drink it, and he took a seat by her side. "The door was kicked in, but nothing was messed with- everything was just as we left it last night."   
  
She scowled for a few seconds before sinking her fangs into the plastic bag. After a long sip, she spoke to him. "Did you smell anything? Had anyone been there?"  
  
He nodded, pulling the note from his pocket and holding it out to her. "This was on the fridge."  
  
She gave him her bag of blood, then took the note into her hands. "To Michael and Selene," she read softly to herself. "We never meant harm towards either of you. We only want to speak with you. We offer you protection from those who would hunt you . . . " She turned it over in her hand. "No signature."  
  
"I know." he grumbled. "What do you think of it?"  
  
She balled up the paper and tossed it into the waste basket beside the bed, then took her bag of blood back. "I think we'd better leave as soon as night falls."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
" . . . and that makes three." Michael said, setting a month's rent into the landlady's daintly hand. The old woman smiled and nodded, handing him a small brass key. "Danke. (Thank you.)"  
  
"Haben Sie einen angenehmen Aufenthalt. (Have a pleasant stay.)" she said back, her voice shaky with age. "Guten tag. (Good day)"  
  
Michael nodded. "Er, guten tag. (good day)" Next to him, Selene merely nodded to the woman, turning and slipping into the little one-room place they had rented for the next month. Michael followed her. They had to hurry to cover the windows before the sun could come up.   
  
It had been two weeks since they had moved, since they had been chased from their home. Now, they were in Berlin. They would rest here for a while, then head into Poland. The baby wasn't due for another three months, so they could travel easily until then.  
  
Inside, Selene tossed the stacks of cardboard sheets onto the shabby futon, and she lifted the hammer and little bag of brads- which Michael quickly took from her.  
  
"Why don't you rest?" he asked, trying not to sound belittling. "I can do this."  
  
She glared at him, but didn't argue, nor did she obey him either. Instead, she simply sat and watched him work. He could feel her eyes on the back of his head as he worked.   
  
"How long do you think we'll stay here?" she finally asked.  
  
"As long as we can." he answered. "I paid for a month, but we can leave anytime, or stay another month."  
  
"We'll be found before a month's out, Michael. They know we're in Germany. They'll redouble their search efforts."  
  
"They won't know if we've gone north or south, Selene. We could be anywhere to them."  
  
"They'll find us." she said firmly. "They won't give up until they do."   
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
By the gods, Selene hated being right.  
  
"We're going to have to stop these little moonlit walks of your's!" she panted to Michael as they ran from another group of hunters- these all lycans and all in their lupine forms. There was no way they could outrun them.  
  
Suddenly, Michael stopped in his tracks, whirling around to face the lycanthropes. Selene halted a few feet from him, watching him change, watching his shirt rip to shreds. He turned to her. "Run! Go!"   
  
She didn't have to be told twice; she booked it around the corner and down another dark street. Behind her, Michael faced off with the group of hunters. She could hear their barks and growls as they fought, then their whimpers as Michael undoubtedly began to win against them.  
  
Selene continued running until she felt she was far enough away, and ducked into a tiny alley to catch her breath. She stood next to a fire escape, one hand on her chest, the other protectively around her stomach as she panted.  
  
Just as her breath was returned to her, two robed figures dropped down from the roof of the building, landing on either side of her. Before she could blink, before she could run, he had caught her by her arms and pressed her back against the wall.  
  
"Don't struggle." one said, his voice calm but his grip like iron. He reaked of lycan.  
  
"We won't hurt you." said the other, her voice more soothing.  
  
"Let me go!" hissed the vampire, trying to pull her arms from their grips.   
  
Three more figures dropped from the building, all wearing the same black hooded robes. The one in the middle, supposedly the leader, stepped foreward. He looked at the two lycans holding Selene against the brick wall. "Be careful!" he hissed to them. "Don't you dare hurt her!"   
  
"We won't." said the male. "It's not like she's-"  
  
"She's pregnant, you idiot!" hissed the leader. "Get off her!"   
  
"What?!" The lycan removed his weight from her, letting her off the wall, but still holding her arm.  
  
"Did you get Michael?" asked the female on Selene's other side.  
  
"He's coming."  
  
As if on cue, Michael rounded the corner, the group of seven lycans- all a little beat up- behind him. He growled threateningly at the two lycans holding Selene, barely keeping himself from attacking them. Once they caught sight of him, they released the vampiress. Within the blink of an eye, both attackers were gagging for breath from Selene's fists hitting their throats, and said vampire was back by Michael's side, eyes blue and fangs at the ready.  
  
The leader watched his two guards regain their breath. "Now, that was really uncalled for."  
  
"Okay, I'll listen." Michael said to the leader, ignoring the two. "Who are you people? What do you want?"  
  
The leader pushed his hood back, revealing a very pale face framed in brown hair around two brown eyes. The vampire smiled the tiniest bit. "We were sent to retrieve you." he answered. "It isn't safe here. The Coven knows you are here. Soon, they will send their dealers after you."  
  
One of the smaller figures behind the vampire stepped forward. "We are with the New House." she murmered softly. "A den of vampires and lycans who wish to live in peace with one another. We have come to offer you protection from the Covens. They grow stronger in their search for you. If you do not come now, soon, it may be too late."  
  
"Come where?" Selene asked, eyes still blue.  
  
"Currenly, we are residing within a circle of three castles in the Koda Penninsula in Russia. Our leaders are there, waiting." said the vampire leader. "Now, the choice is your's: stay and take your chances, endanger your lives and the life of your unborn baby, or come with us and live in peace- have your child born in peace."  
  
The couple still looked skeptical. "How do we know that it is as you say it is?" Selene hissed. "Why should we trust you?"  
  
"You could easily be lying to us!" Michael growled. "Trying to trap us and drag us back to Ordoghaz!"  
  
The leader sighed, crossing his arms. "Well, I had really hoped we wouldn't have to resort to this." he murmered. "Ivy! Jinno!"   
  
The last thing Michael or Selene heard were the two lycans stepping up behind them, then everything faded to black.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Review, please!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	3. Chapter 3

Greetings from The Lady Mage,  
  
Chapter 3. Enjoy. In this chapter, I introduce a character that you will see off and on throughout the rest of the fic. Read, enjoy, and review!  
  
Rating: PG- just because I say so.  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do not own Underworld or its characters. Thank you. BUT- I do own my own character that you will meet in this chapter.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
" . . . here . . . hold this . . . "  
  
" . . . doing it wrong . . . like this . . . "  
  
" . . . shut up . . . he said . . . "  
  
She was awake, but her eyes refused her silent command to open. She was laying down on something warm and soft in what sounded like a train. Her whole body felt numb, and her tongue thick with thirst. In the back of her throat she could taste something metallic. She'd been drugged.  
  
" . . . she's finally waking up . . . "  
  
Where was Michael? Where was she?  
  
"Selene?"  
  
Finally, she managed to open her eyelids just the tiniest bit, enough to see the young face staring down at her. Two innocent, curious, grass-green eyes looked down at her.  
  
"You're awake." observed the young vampire. She barely looked sixteen, tucking her red hair behind her ears before it could swing down into Selene's face. When Selene tried to move, the girl gently held her down. "Shhh. Don't try to get up." she said softly, her voice soft, and soothing, and motherly. "You're not in any danger."  
  
She couldn't feel anything- not even the pounding of her own heart. She couldn't feel her legs or her feet, couldn't feel the child still growing in her womb. Where was her baby? Was it okay? Was it even still alive?  
  
Panic seized her and she redoubled her effort to move, to get up, to get away. The girl still held her down, her hands firm but gentle on Selene's shoulders.   
  
"It's alright!" the girl said, ever calm. "Don't be alarmed. No harm will come to you!" She managed to pin the vampiress down again, and only when Selene quit moving did she remove her hands.   
  
"Wh-where . . ?"   
  
"Where is Michael?" offered the girl. When Selene nodded once, she gave her a warm smile. "He's still unconscious." She moved to the side a little, and helped Selene to turn her head to see across the room. They were in a darkened train compartment. Selene was laying on one couch, and Michael was laying on his back across from her. The young vampire was sitting on her knees on the floor between them. Another young vampire with long, black ringlets was sitting beside Michael, carefully cleaning his face with a cool rag.  
  
The dark-haired girl looked at the redhead. "He'll wake soon as well." she said softly. "Do you want me to go get Tarah?"  
  
"Leyna will be back in a moment." the redhead answered, then turned back to Selene. "I'm Kindra." she said softly. "Are you thirsty?"  
  
Still dazed from whatever had been used to put her out, Selene had to stop to ponder what the word 'thirsty' meant. Before she could register the definition, the scent of fresh blood filled her nose, and she was lifted up enough to gulp down a cupful.  
  
"There. Feel better now?" Kindra asked, her voice still kind- much kinder than any of the servants had ever sounded back at Ordoghaz. She used her gloved thumb to carefully wipe a few drops of spilt blood from Selene's lips.  
  
"How long . . . have I been asleep?" asked the vampiress.  
  
"Only a night and a day." answered the girl. "We're almost home- by tomorrow night, we will be back at Bainesworth."   
  
"Bainesworth?"  
  
"It is the name of where we are going. The name the peasants gave it hundreds of years ago- well before either of our times." Kindra pulled the thing blanket covering Selene up to the vampiress's shoulders. "Now, I shall strike a deal with you." she murmered softly. "I'll let you stay awake for a little while if you promise not to try and run. It's daylight outside, and if you aren't careful, you'll touch the light."  
  
"I can't . . . I can't feel my baby."   
  
Kindra nodded. "I know. It's a side-effect of the drugs. Your baby is just fine, Selene." The blanket was pulled back again, and the grey t-shirt that Selene had been redressed in was pulled up to her bust. Kindra lifted Selene's hand and tapped the woman's palm with her gloved fingers. "Feel that?" When Selene nodded, she placed it on the woman's stomach. "See?" she murmered softly. "Still very pregnant, and baby still very alive." She left Selene's hand there, pulling the shirt down to meet it, and the blanket up over that to keep her warm.  
  
The compartment door slid open and another young girl- a lycan with bobbed blonde hair and brown eyes- stepped in, a little metal tray in her hands. She held it out to the dark-haired girl. "Here, Alissa." she said. "Jinna says this'll keep him out a while longer."   
  
Alissa took the two syringes, and set one down on the table between the two girls. She gestured to Selene but spoke to Kindra. "Are you going to put her back down?"   
  
"I told her she could stay awake." answered the girl, watching Alissa stick her needle into Michael's shoulder. A tiny, almost inaudable growl was the only reaction from him before his features relaxed again.  
  
"Jinna wants to see you as well, Alissa." said the lycan. She turned with her tray, exiting the room. Alissa followed a few seconds later, sliding the compartment door shut behind her, leaving Michael, Kindra, and Selene alone.  
  
"Why must we sleep?" Selene asked quietly.   
  
"Jinna is afraid you'll hurt yourself." answered the younger vampire, turning her eyes back to her charge. "He doesn't want you or Michael to freak out and hurt one of us. It wouldn't be good for you to get all worked up in your condition, either." The girl gave her a small smile, then looked back down to her lap, producing a book as though she may read.  
  
"How old are you? Where do you come from?" Selene asked softly, hoping to get information on just who had Michael and herself captured.  
  
Kindra turned back to her. "I'm only 21- only a baby blood compared to you." she answered. "I was turned by a woman named Sophya five years ago when she needed a nanny for her human children." She smiled, though it wasn't a pleasant one. "She was a witch- a real, live, evil witch."  
  
"How so?" Selene asked, slightly curious. Interrogation could wait until her head wasn't spinning so much.  
  
"Well, everything I did was wrong to her." said the girl with a slight shrug, her attention back on her book. "She'd get angry with me and stick my hands in the sunlight for punishment."   
  
The vampiress's eyebrows raised slightly. "What happened to her?" Selene asked, trying to sound as though she didn't care.  
  
Kindra smirked, her eyes skimming the book. "Well, a few months ago, she went mad. Killed all seven of her children, then tried to kill me. It was the morning, and I was making breakfast like I always did- my room was in the basement, I didn't yet know that there were no more children to be fed. She came to punish me- for what, I don't know- but when she went to lift the blinds, her hands holding mine out to the light, the blind rolled up on her." She turned the page. "I dropped to the floor under the window, into the shadow. She caught fire. Died."  
  
"Oh." was all Selene could murmer.   
  
The girl chuckled, holding one gloved hand up for her inspection. "They found me the next night- a group of lycans from the New House- and took me back to Blainesworth with them." She clenched her gloved fist. "But even though it has been more than a half-year, and my hands have healed, I wear gloves as though I'm afraid someone will try to stick them back into the sunlight again." The fist returned to her side. "Such I will probably carry for eternity, my master couldn't permanently scar my hands, but she did my mind."  
  
The two were silent for a few minutes before the girl turned back to look at Selene, her expression one of concern with a little embarassment mixed in. "You really should sleep, Selene. I can tell you're still tired." She lifted the extra syringe from the table and pulled off the cap. "This won't hurt you or your baby." She said, pinching up a piece of skin on Selene's shoulder. "This'll stick." she said, injecting the clear liquid into Selene's bloodstream before the vampiress could either approve or dissapprove the idea.  
  
Selene registered the girl's lips on her forehead as she was gently kissed goodnight, and then all went dark once more.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, what do you think? Like it? Love it? Hate it? Review and tell me!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	4. Chapter 4

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Welcome to chapter four! This is sort of a filler chapter, but it has some good stuff in it. Short, yes, but I'm working on the next chapter as we speak!! And sorry for the hold-up, but I've started a new job, so it has been taking up my time. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld, or any of its wonderful characters. BUT, I DO own Kindra and Damon (you'll see), so no touchy!!  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
" . . . went down in the river to pray . . studying about that good ol' way . . and who shall wear the starry crown . . good Lord, show me the way . . . "  
  
Someone was singing softly when Selene began to regain consciousness next. When she opened her eyes, she found she was in an unfamiliar room in an unfamiliar bed. She turned her head towards the sweet sound. Kindra sat in a rocking chair near the bed, her book in her gloved hands, singing with a voice like an angel.  
  
" . . Oh, sinners, let's go down . . let's go down- come on down . . Oh, sinners, let's go down, down in the river to pray . . . " She quietened down to a soft hum before dog-earing her page, and setting her book in her lap. The humming sound died as she turned to see Selene. "Awake?" she murmered quietly. "How do you feel? The numbness should be gone by now."  
  
"Where are we? Where's Michael?" Selene asked, sitting up in the bed.  
  
Kindra stood from her chair, and walked to the bed, setting the book on the nightstand before taking a seat at the foot of the bed. "You are in Blainesworth." she answered, her voice soft as usual. She gestured to two doors across the room. "Michael is taking a shower. He'll be out in a few moments. Are you hun-"  
  
"What do you people want from us?!" demanded the vampiress, cutting off the girl.  
  
Kindra gave her a genuinely confused look. "Want from you? Why should we want anything from you?"  
  
"Why have you brought us here?! We were just fine back in Paris!"  
  
Realization dawned on the younger vampire's face. "Jinna mentioned your reluctance to leave." she said. "Yes, we've brought you here not of your own will, but for your own good. But, I am not the one to drill for questions- I don't know much of you, Selene, other than I am to serve you while you are here."  
  
"I don't need servants." hissed the woman.  
  
"Good, because I am not a servant." returned the girl. "I may be young, but I am more than useful. I'm more your nanny than I am your maid." she said with a soft chuckle.  
  
"Nanny?"  
  
Kindra nodded, about to continue, when a young lycan stepped from the bathroom door. He shut it behind him, and fanned away the steam that had escaped with him. "Phew . . . " he murmered, pulling the neck of his black shirt away to let some cooler air to his skin before he shoved his shaggy black hair out of his blue eyes.   
  
"A little warm, are we, Damon?" Kindra asked him with a smile.  
  
He noticed her then, and that Selene and she were watching him. "Do me a favor, Kend, and tell Marcus to never make me do that again, okay?"  
  
The girl pouted. "You don't want to be reassigned, do you?"  
  
"No." Damon answered. "I just don't want to ever have to stand in the bathroom while some other guy is taking a shower, okay?" He shoved his hair back out of his eyes again. "And he had to talk to me while he did it, too!"   
  
Selene held in a snort, trying to appear uninterested, but Kindra chuckled softly. "You poor thing."   
  
He gave her a rather handsome smile, and moved away from the bathroom door as it opened. Michael stepped out, a towel around his waist.   
  
"You are shameless, aren't you." Damon spoke to him, backing away, but watching as was his duty. Kindra moved from the bed, a light blush staining her cheeks as she joined the young lycan.  
  
"Can we have a few minutes to ourselves?" Michael asked the two, walking towards the bed.  
  
Kindra nodded. "Of course."  
  
"We'll be in the hall." Damon murmered, taking Kindra by the hand and gently pulling her to the door. "Call us if you need anything."  
  
"Uh . . will do." Michael murmered, watching them slip out into the hallway. Once they were gone, he turned back to Selene. "Are you okay? Is the baby okay?" he asked, sitting next to her.  
  
"Fine." she answered. "Have you spoken to anyone besides the young lycan? Do you know anything?"  
  
"Well," Michael began. "When I woke up, I was in here with you. Damon and Kindra were both in here. They told me that Lucian was alive, and in league with the now- banished vampire elder, Marcus. Most of the Ordoghaz coven came with him here, wanting peace instead of war." He put his arm around her shoulders. "They said we'd been brought here so that you would have a safe place to have the baby."  
  
"We were safe in Germany."  
  
"Obviously not since they found us so easily. We're just lucky it was New House and not the old covens." Michael argued. "Damon said that once I'm dressed, he'll take me to see Lucian and Marcus. Get dressed and come if you like."  
  
Selene nodded, throwing back the covers off of her legs. "Where are our things?"  
  
"Um . . " Michael glanced around the room. "I don't know." He took to his feet, and went to the door. He pulled it open, and stuck his head out in the hallway. "Hey." The two young immortals jumped away from eachother as though they'd been burned, and then scampered back into the bedroom. "Where are our clothes?"  
  
Kindra smiled, going to the little door next to the bathroom. She turned the knob and pushed it open, revealing a large walk-in closet filled with their own clothes, plus new clothes that had been supplied to them. "In here, sir." she answered quietly.  
  
"Thanks." he said. "Selene's going to come with me to see Marcus and Lucian, okay?"  
  
"You really don't have to ask for permission to take her anywhere- except outside the grounds." Damon said casually. "I'm sure than Lucian and Marcus will enjoy speaking to her as well."  
  
"And Marcus's bride has been dying to see her- I've had to chase her off three times this evening." Kindra said with another of her gentle smiles.  
  
"Marcus has taken a bride?!" Selene asked, standing from the bed and tugging down the hem of her slipgown. "Since when? Who?"  
  
"Yes, he has. She's a young thing, too." Damon answered. "Barely half a century old!"  
  
Kindra smiled to him. "But she loves him, and that's all that matters." She took his hand in her gloved one. "Come. We'll wait in the hall while they dress." And once again, they slipped from the room.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, how was it? Good? Bad? Do you like it? Do you hate it? Tell me in a review!  
  
By the way, the song that Kindra was singing is 'Down In The River To Pray' by Alison Krauss. I DO NOT own the song, nor do I have any ties to it, I just thought it was sweet tune for Kindra to be humming/singing/whatever. Oh, and 'Kend' is Kindra's nickname in case you were wondering who the heck Kend was.  
  
The Lady Mage 


	5. Chapter 5

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Hello, and welcome to chapter . . *counts on fingers* five! This one is short (I'm sorry!), but it is important . . . you'll see. Read. Enjoy. Review!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage do NOT own Underworld or any of its many magical characters! I DO OWN my OWN OCS!! No touchy! *chuckles*  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Damon pushed open the two great oaken doors that lead into the room that served as Lucian and Marcus's shared office. The young lycan stepped aside, allowing Michael and Selene to enter. Kindra followed, helping him shut the large doors.  
  
The room was decorated as the rest of the mansion was- panneled walls, lush carpets, and victorian furniture. In this room sat two giant desks- one on either side of the room- and a large chaise was settled between them against the far wall. Three people occupied the room- one at each desk, and one lounged out on the chaise.  
  
As soon as Selene and Michael stepped into the room, all three looked up. Erika sat up on the chaise, a smile on her face. "Selene! We'd thought you were dead!"   
  
The vampiress seemed surprised to see the blonde vampire in the room, but she hid it well. "Obviously I am not that easy to kill." she said. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Erika smiled, gesturing to the man with shaggy blonde hair and big, gentle blue eyes that sat at one of the desks. "I go where my husband takes me." she answered casually.  
  
"Husband?"  
  
The last person in the room turned around his chair. "Welcome." Lucian said to the two. Kindra walked past Damon, pausing next to Lucian just long enough to touch his shoulder with her gloved hand, then came to stand behind him. He gave her a pleasant expression before turning his attention back to Selene and Michael.  
  
The lycan alpha looked much the same as he had the last time either Michael or Selene had set eyes on him, save for cleaner clothes and a trimmed beard. Lucian took in Michael's shocked expression and smirked. "Well, go ahead. Ask."   
  
"How the holy hell are you alive?!" Michael asked, eyes wide as he stared.  
  
"That, Michael, is a long story- one best left undiscussed." answered the alpha. "Besides, we have more pressing matters to attend to."   
  
The blonde man stood from his desk. "Yes. Lucian is right." He turned to Erika. "Erika, dear, why don't you take Selene and Kindra into the sitting room while we speak? You can fill her in one everything she wants to know."  
  
"No thanks." Selene said, crossing her arms. "I'd rather stay here."  
  
"Erika can tell you all that is going on." Lucian said. "Marcus and I must speak with Michael- alone- first."  
  
"Whatever you can say to me, you can say to her as well." Michael protested.  
  
Erika mock-pouted. "Oh, come on Selene." she said as she stood up. "Let them talk. I'll tell you whatever you want to know."  
  
"It'll only be for a few minutes." said Lucian.   
  
Michael gave his mate an apologetic look. "I'll tell you everything they say- I swear."  
  
She glared at him, but the look he returned to her told her she wouldn't be permitted to stay- if he had to remove her himself. Her glare intensified, promising many horrible things, as Erika and Kindra lead her through a little doorway and into the next room.  
  
This room was much the same, with its fancy little couches and its grand fireplace. Kindra immediatly went to the fireplace and took a seat on the floor before it, sitting just far enough away to not catch flame.  
  
"Have a seat." Erika gestured to the comfy chair behind Kindra, then sat in the one opposite it, crossing her legs.  
  
When Selene sat behind her, Kindra leaned back against the side of the chair. The vampiress ignored her, turning to look at Erika. "So, why have we been kidnapped? And since when are you with Marcus?! What happened to your precious Kraven?"  
  
Erika wrinkled her nose. "Kraven is history." She spat his name as though it left a foul taste in her mouth. "I have someone better now. I met Marcus the day after the Clash."  
  
"Clash?"  
  
Kindra leaned her head back to see Selene's face. "It's what the lycans call the day when the vampire elder, Viktor, died." she explained. "The day the worlds clashed."  
  
"Marcus is everything that Kraven wasn't." Erika continued, her voice a little softer. "He's sweet and kind, and he actually gives a damn about how I feel about things."  
  
"How did you end up here, though? I never thought you'd be able to stand living amongst a pack of lycans."  
  
"I got over it pretty quickly." Erika answered with a light laugh. "Let's see . . . well, when the Death Dealers went to awaken Marcus the next day, they discovered he'd already been awakened- but something was wrong. His colouring was off and his eyes would flash between blue and black. He hid it well, but a few days later, they discovered he was a hybrid. They deemed him unclean and demanded he leave."  
  
"Hybrid?"  
  
"Mm-hm. Apparently Viktor left a lycan in the tomb. The blood leaked down into Marcus's coffin, and since he is a Corvinus, it mutated him. When they booted him out, most of the coven left with him- myself included."  
  
"So, how did you and him get together?"  
  
"Now that, Selene, is a secret best kept." said the blonde. "I'll say he was charming, and I was heartbroken. He was nice to me without being patronizing like Kraven had always been."  
  
Kindra scowled. "If Kraven was such a mean person, why did you love him so?"  
  
"Well, I didn't love him- I loved his position."  
  
"Ah."  
  
Selene held back a chuckle, and instead asked another question. "So, how did the lot of you wind up here?"  
  
Erika smiled. "Lucian found us a few months later and invited us to live in peace here. He wants peace amongst our races- and so does Marcus. The two share control over New House now so that both lycan and vampire are happy, and we've been happy here since."  
  
"And of Lucian, how is he alive?"  
  
Kindra looked up at her again. "No one knows." she answered softly. "Everyone asks, but he refuses to answer us." She looked back to the fire. "What should it matter though? He is alive. Is that not enough?"  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Well, how did you like it? Hmm? More later- check back tomorrow!!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	6. Chapter 6

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Welcome to chapter six! Another little shorty, but it keeps the story going. Mucho surpriso in chapter seven though!! Read. Enjoy. Review!!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its characters, BUT, I do own my own OCs and this story, so back off!! *chuckles*  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"Why were we brought here?" Michael demanded as soon as the women had left the room.  
  
"For protection." Lucian answered simply. "The covens do not know she is with child, but if they had found out before we found you, they would have come at you full force to stop the birth of your child!"  
  
"The Old Coven is not your biggest threat, though. Her health could waver anytime now." Marcus commented, running a hand through his shaggy hair. "Vampires have especially difficult pregnancies."  
  
"Most don't survive it. Half of those who do, do not survive giving birth." Lucian said. "The newborns don't fare much better. We brought you here so that you two could have a your child in safety- under the supervision of the midwives."  
  
Michael crossed his arms, watching the two of them. Something didn't add up to him. "So, I'm supposed to believe that the two of you sent out your men to capture us- endangering their lives- to bring us back here out of the goodness of your little, black hearts?" He snorted. "Give me a break. What do you want?"  
  
The two elders shared an amused look. Marcus spoke. "Smart boy." he said with a smirk. "Yes, you are right. There is something we want, and we're trading you, your mate, and your child refuge for it."  
  
"For what?"  
  
"Kraven." Lucian spat. "We've been tracking the slimy bastard for a year, but everytime we get him in our grasp, the slippery skunk manages to get away somehow."  
  
"Disgusting, really." commented the blonde man, leaning back against his desk.  
  
Michael nodded. "So, I hunt down and kill the bastard. Then what?"  
  
"Then you do as you please. Live here in peace with us, or go about your own way."  
  
"What of Selene?"  
  
Lucian glanced at the door the females had gone into. "We'll wait until she gives birth before you go to hunt Kraven. She'll need you here from now until then."  
  
"Kindra will take good care of her." Marcus said with a slight smile. "She's young, but she's an able thing."  
  
"Yes." Lucian agreed, then continued. "After Kraven is dead, you are more than welcome to live here- in fact, we would prefer that you did."  
  
"It is our duty to protect the next generation." Marcus said, taking his seat again. "Vampire and lycan mixed relationships are still concidered taboo amongst the majority of us, but there are a few couples that want to defy the odds. When they have children, if the covens get wind of it, they will hunt for them."  
  
"You remain here- raise your children here- and help us guard our's."  
  
Damon, who stood leaned up in the corner, spoke softly. "There is no war here- no fights except for friendly brawls, and no one hates you for your blood. This is a paradise. How could you not wish to remain here?"  
  
Michael nodded. "It is up to Selene." he said, uncrossing his arms. "I won't make her stay someplace where she doesn't feel safe or happy. I'll talk it over with her."  
  
The young lycan chuckled. "I'm sure Kindra and Erika can convince her to stay." he said. "The two of them can be quite persuasive when they wish to be."  
  
"Ah, yes." Marcus said with a chuckle of his own. "Erika has been dying to speak with Selene since we told her we were searching for you. She won't let her leave until she's through with her."  
  
Lucian nodded, turning to Damon. "Will you go get the girls?"  
  
"Yes, sir." said the young lycan, dissappearing into the room the girl's were in. A few seconds later, the four filed out.  
  
Selene returned to Michael's side, while Erika returned to Marcus's. Damon went to his corner, and Kindra rounded Lucian's desk again, laying her hands on his shoulder as she breezed past him to take a seat on the chaise.  
  
"I trust Erika has filled you in?" Lucian looked to Selene.  
  
"Yes." The vampiress nodded, crossing her arms. "I'm to be treated like an invalid until I have my baby." she said flatly.  
  
"We told you nothing of the sort!" Erika argued. "I said you'd be taken care of, not taken over!"  
  
"Selene, no one is going to make you do anything- and heaven help anyone who tries to treat you like an invalid." Marcus said with a laugh. He glanced at the clock. "Anyway, morning approaches, and the two of you have much to discuss."  
  
"You must feed- the entire lot of you." Kindra said to the whole of them. "Especially you, Lucian. You haven't stepped out of this office since yesterday morning."   
  
"I'm not particularly hungry." Selene murmered.  
  
"Well, I am." said Michael.  
  
"I'll retrieve you something." Kindra said to him, standing. "Selene, Damon will take you to your room." She looked at Damon. "Won't you?"  
  
"Of course." Damon said, opening the large doors. "This way, Miss."  
  
"I'll be up in a little bit." Michael said to Selene. She only nodded, slipping out into the hallway. Erika followed her, still wanting to speak, leaving Kindra alone with Michael, Lucian, and Marcus.  
  
"Blood for you, sir?" Kindra asked, nodding towards Marcus.  
  
"Yes, please." he answered.   
  
"And Michael likes human food, ne?" she asked, turning to him. "A sandwhich okay?"  
  
"Thanks." he nodded.  
  
Kindra moved back to Lucian's chair, laying her hands on his right shoulder. "Are you trying to starve yourself?" she asked.  
  
"I haven't any appetite." he said dissmissively, returning his attention to the papers on his desk.  
  
"Do you want me to bring you anything?" she asked. "There's plenty of really good steak in the freeze . . or perhaps you would prefer blood like Marcus?"  
  
"Not hungry."  
  
"Or I could just bring you a bowl of venison- you like that, right? You ate it last time."  
  
"Kindra . . . "  
  
"I'm bringing you something whether you like it or not, so pick already!"  
  
He turned to glare up at her, but she met his gaze without flinching. He turned back to his desk. "Surprise me." he grumbled, giving in.  
  
She nodded, turning and leaving, ignoring Marcus's chuckle, Michael's confused look, and Lucian's low growl.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, how was it? Good? Bad? Tell me in a review!!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	7. Chapter 7

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
Welcome to the next chapter of Second Chances. This one is still sort of filler- and the next chapter will be filler as well, but after that, we get to hop onto the storyline train. Read, enjoy, review!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its fabulous characters. I am only borrowing then for the duration of my fanfic, and promise to return them in new/nearly new condition once I'm through.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"Damon, why don't you go and help Kindra?" Erika asked as the three of them walked down the hallway. "She could use you more than we could, and I can take Selene back to her rooms."  
  
The young lycan seemed to perk up. "If that is your wish." he said, wasting no time in bounding back down the hallway towards Lucian's office.  
  
The blonde vampiress watched him with a soft chuckle. "Those two are really sweet together." she commented.  
  
"Kindra and Damon?" Selene asked absently.  
  
"Mm-hm. They've been lovesick puppies since the day they met seven months ago." answered Erika, leading Selene to the grand stair. "It's so obvious that they love eachother."  
  
"How so?"  
  
The two began to ascend the set of stairs. Erika smiled. "Well, I suppose it is if you know Kindra well enough." she said. "She touches him."  
  
"People touch other people all the time." murmered Selene, following Erika down another long hallway.  
  
"Yes, but . . has she said anything to you about her hands? Anything at all?"  
  
The dark-haired vampiress nodded. "Yes. The one who turned her would burn her hands as punishment."  
  
"Yeah, well, Kindra doesn't touch anyone unless she really likes them. She keeps her hands to herself and avoids contact with people."  
  
"She touched Lucian." observed Selene.  
  
"Yes, she likes Lucian a lot- mothers him, actually." Erika chuckled, opening the set of double doors they had come upon. "That's probably what she's doing now."  
  
As soon as the two women stepped through the doors and into the next hallway, they both heard a soft baby's cry. A look of distress crossed the blonde woman's face, and she hurried past Selene to the fourth door on the hallway, quickly stepping inside.  
  
Selene followed, coming to stand in the doorway. The sight she took in was not the one she expected. The room was a bright nursery all done up in baby blue and white. Erika was bent over a white lacy basinet, lifting a crying newborn up into her arms.  
  
"My poor Nicolas . . " she cooed softly to the baby, resting his head on her shoulder and patting his back. His crying ceased when she spoke to him.  
  
"Whose . . . ?" Selene began quietly.  
  
Erika turned to her, moving the baby down into her arms. "Mine and Marcus's." she answered with a proud smile. "His name is Nicolas. Would you like to hold him?" She came closer so that Selene could see him.  
  
Nicolas was beginning to drift off to sleep again, his little blue eyes sliding shut. He'd been dressed in a baby blue sleeper with a little lamb on the chest, little white booties to keep his feet warm, and a little white cribcap that almost completely covered his light mop of curly blonde hair.   
  
"I . . "  
  
"What's the matter? Never held a baby before?"  
  
Selene scowled. "Of course I have." she said, gently taking the baby boy into her arms.   
  
Erika smiled. "Come on. Your room is just over here." she said, leading Selene from the nursery, three doors down to the last door on the hall. "Home, sweet home." she murmered, opening the door for the vampiress and then following her inside. "So . . when you due?"  
  
"Hmm?" Selene asked, sitting in the rocking chair.  
  
The blonde sat at the end of the bed. "When are you due?"  
  
"Oh. Two, maybe three months . . I'm not sure."  
  
"Ah. Excited?"  
  
"Some."  
  
Erika chuckled. "Boy, you sure haven't changed much!"  
  
Selene rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to the sleeping newborn in her arms. "How old is Nicolas?"  
  
"He'll be 14 days old tomorrow night." Erika answered quietly. "And I'm thankful for every one of them."  
  
"Something happen?"  
  
The blonde girl scowled. "Well, I passed out when I had him- I lost so much blood." she began slowly. "When I started to come to, I heard the midwives panicking about him, but I passed out again before I could say anything. Marcus told me that it took them forever to get him to take his first breath- they thought both of us were going to die."  
  
"Oh."  
  
Before either could say any more, the door opened, and Kindra came in, a little silver platted in her hands. She glanced at Nicolas in Selene's arms. "Oh, did baby awake?" she asked, setting the tray on the vanity.  
  
"We heard him cry when we came into the hall." Erika answered.  
  
"Ah." Kindra turned to Selene. "You can't eat and hold him at the same time."   
  
"Here." Erika stood up and lifted Nicolas from Selene's lap. "You can hold him all you like after you eat, okay?"  
  
"You have to eat, too." Kindra said the the blonde vampiress. "You've got a baby to feed as well." She went to the tray, and retrieved two little bowls with two little spoons. One was handed to Selene, the other set on the nightstand for Erika. "Hand him over." she said playfully, holding her arms out for Nicolas.  
  
"What's this?" Selene asked, staring down at the pink glob in her bowl.  
  
Erika handed Nicolas to Kindra, then lifted her own bowl. "It's blood pudding." she answered. "It's really good. Try it."  
  
"It's good for you." Kindra said, cuddling Nicolas on her shoulder. "And it'll be good for your baby as well. Your child is a hybrid- she needs more nutrition than blood alone."  
  
"Did you get Marcus and Michael something?" Erika asked.  
  
"Yes- blood and sandwhiches." The girl scowled. "I had to sit over Lucian though."  
  
"You made him eat again?"  
  
"I can't make him do anything." Kindra said softly. "But if I bug him long enough, he'll give in."  
  
Erika chuckled. "Anyone else but you, Kindra . . . "  
  
"I think he likes the attention." said the girl. She took a seat on the bed next to Erika, laying Nicolas down on her lap. He whimpered, thinking he'd been put down. "Oh, Nikkie, you spoilt thing, you." she cooed, pulling him back up to her shoulder.  
  
"He's not spoilt." Erika argued.  
  
"Erika, you're in denial." Kindra chuckled, standing up and heading for the last door in the room to be opened.  
  
"Where you going?" Selene asked.  
  
"Into the nursery." Kindra answered, stopping before the door. "We had this set up before we found you." She opened the door, and stepped into the dark room. A few seconds later, she flipped on the switch, flooding the room with light.   
  
Selene appeared in the doorway, her bowl half-finished in her hands. The room was done up in white with a lacy basinet like Nicolas's, and a crib, changing table, rocking chair, and dresser all in dark cherry. In the crib lay two unopened sets of sheets- one pink and one blue in preparation for either arrival.   
  
"Cute, isn't it?" Kindra asked, crossing the room to another door.  
  
"What's in there?"  
  
"My room." answered the girl. "On the other side of that is Nicolas's nursery." She opened the door. "I told you I was your nanny- I'm Nicolas's nanny as well- at least when Erika and Marcus must sleep. When your baby is born, she'll be under my care while you rest as well." explained the girl, stepping into her bedroom.  
  
The dark-haired vampiress followed, taking in the simple room with its twin bed and matching desk, dresser, and vanity. The walls were the same panneling as was everything else, but instead of tapestries, paintings of flowers and daytime landscapes were hung. Above the bed's headboard, seven little sheets of paper hung in a single giant glass frame- each a different drawing, each obviously drawn by a child's hand, and each signed with a different name: Anya, Lance, Vian, Eiyden, Karsa, Henri, and Charlette.  
  
"They liked to draw." Kindra said, noticing Selene focusing. She went to the nightstand and lifted a little blue pacifier, then popped it into Nicolas's mouth. "I encouraged it of course. It was a wonderful outlet for them- and Vian, he was very talented. He could have been an artist."  
  
"Selene?"  
  
Both women turned to the sound of Michael's voice, and walked back through the nursery and into the bedroom. Lucian, Marcus, and Michael were scattered about the room- Lucian in the leather reading chair in one corner, Marcus beside Erika on the bed, and Michael standing near the rocking chair.  
  
"Back already?" Kindra asked, coming out before Selene, a content Nicolas on her shoulder. She scanned the room. "Where is Damon?"  
  
"Julian called him away." Lucian answered.  
  
"Ah." murmered the girl, taking Nicolas and settling him into Marcus's arms.  
  
"This the baby you were talking about?" Michael asked, watching.  
  
"Yes." Marcus nodded.  
  
"Since Michael and Marcus are here, Selene is alright, and Nicolas is not crying, . . " Kindra began to Erika. "May I be excused?"  
  
"Sure." answered the blonde with a smile.  
  
"Thankyou." Kindra said, turning to the door.  
  
"Kindra." The girl halted at the sound of Lucian's voice. "He's up in the training room." said the alpha, knowing exactly why the girl wanted to leave.  
  
Kindra blushed ever so slightly, then slipped out the door.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, what do you think? I just love baby Nikkie! What do you think? Tell me in a review!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	8. Chapter 8

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Welcome to chapter 8! This is some more filler- next chappie will pick up the story though, so no worries! Thanks to all the people who have read and reviewed this story- your reviews all really made my days brighter!! Read, enjoy, review!!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its characters- I merely borrow them for an hour or so a day.   
  
Rating: Hmm . . . about the same. PG-13  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
*drip*  
  
*drip*  
  
*drip*  
  
Selene cracked her eyes open with a sigh, turning her head to glare at the open bathroom door across the room. Michael's sleeping face blocked her view, his arms loosening around her stomach when he felt her move.  
  
*drip*  
  
*drip*  
  
*drip*  
  
Another sigh escaped her lips as she turned her head back to the clock on the nightstand. She scowled when it only read 3:00 PM. It had only been six hours since the others had left them to bed down, and now, she didn't think she ever would get back to sleep. As if to confirm her suspicion, the baby began to kick just behind her bellybutton- the slightly sharp pains enough to get her moving.  
  
With a groan, she sat up, untangling Michael's arms from around her middle, then headed for the bathroom to turn off the damn leaking faucet. That done, she went to the closet, picking out a pair of black sweatpants and a black t-shirt, and slipping them on.   
  
She checked to make sure that Michael was still asleep, then silently crept from their room. Selene really had no idea where she was going; this castle was gigantic- vastly bigger than Ordoghaz- and had many more ways and places in which to become lost. She meandered down the hallway, passing through the giant doors, and headed down a set of stairs.  
  
The castle seemed eerily silent as she wandered down its many hallways, stopping now and then to look into the many rooms. She found a library, a small study, a parlor, and a ballroom, but no people- vamp or lycan- until she found another set of stairs heading down.  
  
At the bottom of the stair was a sign that clearly read: 'POOL AREA - TRAINING AREA' on a pair of hospital style double doors. She pushed open the doors, and stepped inside. Now, she was in a large concrete room- an indoor multipurpose room. To her right, another set of doors were propped open, and she could see the pool on their other side.  
  
She could hear the sound of splashing, of someone swimming on one side, just out of her line of vision. Curious, she walked to the doors and peered inside.  
  
Erika was in the pool, leaning up against the side to check on Nicolas who lay sleeping in his bouncer just out of her reach. Kindra was beside him, sitting on a little stool in front of a canvas.  
  
"You should be asleep, Selene." Kindra suddenly said, glancing at the vampiress over the top of her canvas before turning her attention back to her painter's palette.  
  
Selene almost jumped, but quickly composed herself. "I couldn't." she said, coming into the room.  
  
"Is there anything I can do for you?" asked the girl, turning to look up as Selene neared her. "Would you like a sleeping pill?"  
  
"No, I'm fine." Selene murmered, coming around behind Kindra to see what she was painting.  
  
"It isn't finished." Kindra said quickly, her head lowered as she mixed her paints.  
  
The canvas was only half coloured, but Selene could see the outlines beneath the colourwash. The painting was of a sunrise- of a field of wildflowers in front of a beautiful old, crumbling castle. The castle was already painted- it's mossy detail finished- but the field of flowers was still canvas white.  
  
"It's lovely." Selene commented, "Do you paint often?"  
  
"Yes." answered the girl in a soft voice, a light blush staining her cheeks.  
  
"Want a swim, Selene?" Erika asked from her place in the pool, resting her chin on her hands.  
  
"No thanks." Selene muttered, crossing her arms.  
  
"It would be good for you." Kindra commented, dotting her field of flowers with violet. "And it might make you relaxed enough to sleep again."  
  
"I think I'll pass." murmered the vampiress, moving to sit in one of the deck chairs around the pool. "I'm not big on swimming."  
  
"Join the club." muttered Kindra, chewing delicately on the end of her paintbrush as she examined her painting. "Erika?"  
  
The blonde vampire looked up to her. "Hmm?"  
  
"It needs something." said the girl, turning her painting so that Erika could see. "But I don't know what . . . "  
  
"There are lillies blooming in the field." Erika said. "And the ivy growing on the wall is beginning to bloom again- big purple flowers."  
  
"Ah, yes." agreed the girl, dipping her paintbrush in her dark purple.  
  
"The castle is real?" Selene asked, watching the girl paint.  
  
"This is where you are at, Selene." Kindra said, turning to smile at her. "This is Bainesworth- at least, this is the particular castle we are in right now. Pretty, isn't it."  
  
"Hmm."  
  
Erika pulled Nicolas's bouncer to the edge of the water. She unbuttoned his little tadpole-patterned sleeper but left on the white onesie underneath it, and lifted him up out of his bouncer.  
  
"Nikkie swim?" Kindra asked absently, her mind back in her painting as she continued to colour her flowers.  
  
"For a minute." Erika answered, gently easing the newborn down into the water, holding him so that his head rested on her shoulder. "I'm about to get out anyway." she murmered, cuddling her son when he began to whimper. "Oh Nikkie . . . " she cooed to him, "You're alright . . it's just a bit of water . . . "  
  
Selene crossed her arms over her stomach, watching the blonde vampiress and her newborn son in the water. She didn't think she'd ever get used to this new Erika- the Erika who wasn't jealous or haughty, but pleasant. She was happy for her, in her own way, but still wary of her.  
  
As interesting as Erika and Nicolas were, the young vampire next to her was even more intriguing. The baby blood was the complete opposite of any other vampire she had ever met. Kindra was all smiles and sunshine- at least what she could remember of it. The other vampires, the ones at Ordoghaz at least, were all conceited and dark.   
  
The girl, feeling eyes on her, turned and gave Selene a small smile, her green eyes lighting up for a few moments before she returned to her paints.  
  
"I'm getting out." Erika murmered to herself, moving to the ladder and climbing out with one arm, the other holding Nicolas tight to her. "Kindra, are you staying down here?" she asked, walking to a nearby table and lifting the towel and robe laid out on it.   
  
"Well, I can't just leave Selene down here- she doesn't know the way back upstairs." answered the girl with a grin. She capped her paints and dipped her brush in her cup of water. "Think my canvas will be safe down here?"  
  
"No one ever comes down here but us." said the blonde. She settled a newly bundled Nikkie down in the bouncer before wrapping her robe around her. "Set it over by one of the tables."   
  
Kindra nodded, standing and lifting her easel. "Is Michael still asleep?" she asked, settling her painting next to one of the tables.  
  
"Mmhm." Selene nodded.   
  
"Won't he be worried about you if he wakes up?" Erika asked, hefting Nikkie- bouncer and all- up and heading for the door.  
  
"Probably." Kindra answered for her, coming and ever so lightly placing her gloved hands on Selene's left shoulder. "Would you like to accompany Erika upstairs, or would you prefer to stay down here?"  
  
Selene looked up to see the girl. "There's nothing to do down here."  
  
"Unless you want to swim or paint, no there isn't." agreed Kindra. "So let's go." Her hands were removed from Selene's shoulder as the older woman stood up to follow them.  
  
The three quickly made their way back upstairs, Erika and Kindra leading Selene to the main hall and foyer.  
  
"If you ever get lost," Kindra began as they walked to the grand stair. "Look for the big stairs. Everything connects to this foyer down here, and the long hall upstairs."  
  
Selene only nodded, following the two up the stairs and down the hall, trying to memorize the way from the grand stair to the particular hallway their rooms were on. "Where is everybody?" she finally asked as they reached the double doors into their hall.  
  
"Everbody?" Erika asked, opening her door and holding it for Selene and Kindra.   
  
"Yeah. People. Vampires, lycans, anyone? Is it just the few of us?"  
  
Kindra nodded. "Well, there are only twenty people living in this castle beside the five of you- oh, and Nikkie." she answered. "Bainesworth is three castles. The rest of New House lives in the other two, bigger castles."  
  
"Oh." Seleme murmered, taking a seat in Erika's chair. "Where is Lucian and Marcus?" She glanced at Kindra. "Or your Damon?"  
  
The young girl immediatly blushed again. "Damon is with his mother and father in Castle Lupus. Lucian is with them. Marcus is in Castle Sanguis."  
  
"Sunlight does not hurt him?" Selene asked.  
  
Erika shook her head, placing her robe on the vanity chair next to the bathroom. "Not anymore than it does your Michael." she answered. "I'm getting in the shower. Be back in five minutes." Without waiting for a reaction, she stepped into the bathroom and shut the door behind her.  
  
Kindra walked to the bed and sat down, smoothing her denim skirt over her knees as she sat. "Are you hungry, Selene?" she asked quietly.  
  
Selene shook her head, but Kindra could hear her stomach growl from across the room. "A little perhaps."  
  
"Want some more blood pudding?"  
  
"Not really."  
  
"Did you not like it?"  
  
"I'm just not hungry for it."  
  
"You prefer straight blood." observed the youth, laying her hands in her lap. "It's only natural I suppose."  
  
"And you don't?"  
  
"I don't care either way." murmered the girl. "Blood is blood whether it is mixed in with a bowl of pudding or used as milk for cereal."  
  
Erika's voice sounded from the bathroom. "Kindra, will you come take Nikkie?"   
  
Kindra stood from the bed and entered the little bathroom, coming out a few moments later with Nikkie, freshly bathed and wrapped in a towel. "Care to join me?" she asked Selene as she pulled the bathroom door shut.  
  
"Where?"  
  
"Nursery." answered the girl, walking to its open door and flipping on the light. She walked inside, headed for the little dresser for a diaper and an outfit. Once Nikkie was dry and dressed, she headed back into the bedroom. Selene had stayed quietly in her chair.  
  
Kindra rounded the chair and walked to the bed, laying Nikkie down on its center between two of the many pillows. "There you are, darling." she murmered to him. "Mummy will come feed you in a few minutes."   
  
From her chair, Selene let out the softest of gasps. Kindra immediatly turned to her, a concerned look on her face. "Selene?" The vampiress didn't answer her, instead wrapped her arms tighter around her stomach, her now ice-blue eyes squeezing shut in pain. "Selene!" Kindra was immediatly at her side.  
  
Erika stuck her head out the bathroom door to see what the commotion was. Her eyes widened when she saw Selene. Throwing on her bathrobe, she hurried from the room and to the vampiress's side. "Where does it hurt?" she asked.  
  
"Everywhere." croaked Selene, hunching over in the chair.  
  
"Kindra, run fetch Michael." Erika said. "Go!" Kindra turned, scrambling for the nursery. Erika turned back to Selene. "Don't clench up- you'll make it worse." she said, crouching down to see Selene's face.  
  
Michael ran into the room, Kindra at his heels. "What happened?!" he demanded, rushing to Selene.  
  
"We don't know yet." Erika answered. "Take her and put her in bed. I'll go get Audra." She turned to Kindra. "Kindra, watch Nicolas."  
  
"Yes'm." murmered the girl, watching Michael lift Selene and carry her back to their room. Erika shut the nursery door behind them, then sprinted into the hallway to retrieve the midwife. Finally, the girl turned and went to Nicolas, lifting him up into her arms and carrying him past the rocking chair, ignoring the soft splat as Selene's blood dripped from its seat to the floor.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, what did you think? Hmm? . . . What was that? . . . I can't hear you . . . Hmm, guess you'll just have to leave me a review then! =^.^=  
  
The Lady Mage 


	9. Chapter 9

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Hello and welcome to chapter 9. Thank you so much to all the people who have reviewed this story! Your input is just awesome and I just LOVE to read it! =^.^= Okay . . . next chap, stuff shuld pick up. I know I keep saying that, but I didn't really realize how often these scenes needed to be broken up so that is makes sense. Read, enjoy, review!!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld, or any of its characters. I only borrow them for a few hours a day, but I promise not to break them! *kicks broken Kraven doll under bed*   
  
Rating: . . . hmm . . . I'll give it a PG-13. *invisible audience claps*  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"You're bleeding." Michael noted, laying Selene on the bed. Her pain seemed to have passed, but they didn't know for how long. He crouched over her, smoothing her hair away from her face. "Tell me where it hurt."  
  
"All over." she murmered, her voice thick. "Now it's just sore." She opened her mouth to speak again, but another wave of pain silenced her. Immediatly, she curled onto her side, clenching her eyes shut and letting out a low hiss.  
  
Michael moved onto the bed behind her, placing his hands on her stomach. "I knew I should have gone into pediatrics!" he grumbled, carefully turning her onto her back. "Don't curl up, Selene."  
  
"This way! In here!"   
  
Michael looked up as Erika rushed into the room, leading a tall amazonian lycan woman with shoulder-length black hair and brown eyes, dressed in sweats and a lab coat. She carried an old fashioned doctor's bag in one hand, and a bundle of fabrics in the other.  
  
"This is the midwife." Erika said, gesturing to the woman.  
  
"Hi." the woman said pleasantly, then went into doctor-mode. She rounded the bed and looked down at Selene. "Hello." she said softly when Selene turned her head to see her. "My name is Audra. Can you tell me where it hurts?"  
  
"All over." Selene groaned.  
  
"Okay." murmered the midwife, pushing the vampiress's shirt up. She put her hands down on Selene's stomach, pressing gently. "Do you know how far along you are?"  
  
"We think she's seven- maybe eight months." Michael answered, watching the lycanthropic midwife carefully.  
  
Audra nodded. "Feels like you might be about seven and a half- possibly eight." she said softly, pressing down just below Selene's ribs. "Baby's head is already down."  
  
"She isn't already going into labor, is she?" Michael asked.  
  
"Deffinatly." answered Audra. "She's having contractions. The baby's coming."  
  
"But it's too early!" Selene sobbed, clenching her fists in the bedsheets as another contraction came.  
  
"I'll go get my things." Audra said, turning to Michael. "I'll be right back. While I'm gone, you need to get her calmed down. The more worked up she is, the less a chance the both of them have for survival."  
  
Michael nodded, sitting down on the bed behind Selene, pulling her up against him. She whimpered, moving her hands from the sheets to clench his own. "Too soon . . " she mumbled, "Michael, it's-"  
  
"Shh . . everyting is going to be alright." he murmered, kissing her hair.  
  
Audra walked to Erika. "Go and get Marcus to watch Nicolas; I need Kindra's help." she said softly, then slipped from the room.   
  
Erika went into Selene's nursery, then into Kindra's room. Kindra was sitting on the bed, changing Nikkie's diaper. She looked up when Erika came in.  
  
"Give me Nikkie." Erika said. "I'm taking him to Marcus. Selene's going to have the baby, and Audra needs your help."  
  
"But Selene isn't full term." Kindra scowled, snapping Nikkie's sleeper up. "At least you made it to nine months." She held the two-week old out to his mother.  
  
Erika nodded, settling Nicolas on her shoulder. "Well, I'm not the one who has been running from the old covens for the past year." she said softly. "Audra will be back in a few minutes. You'd better hurry."   
  
Kindra nodded, standing up. She watched Erika go into Nikkie's nursery before she turned and walked through the unused nursery and into Selene and Michael's room. Selene was sitting up on the bed, leaning back against Michael's chest, her face hidden against his throat.  
  
"Hello." the girl said quietly, crouching down and pulling a pair of rubber gloves from Audra's bag to trade her leather gloves with. Michael watched her curiously as she hid her hands to change gloves.  
  
"What? You know how to deliver babies now, too?" he asked her.  
  
"No." Kindra shook her head. "When she delivers, I take the baby until Audra is finished with Selene. I did the same with Nikkie and with three lycan newborns since I've been here."  
  
Selene moaned, pulling her hands down to cup her stomach. Michael's hands slid down to cover her's. "Have you helped any premature babies before?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yes. One." Kindra murmered, carefully sitting on the bed. She placed a light hand on Selene's knee. "Don't worry, Selene. Audra has been helping bring babies into the world for over a hundred years. She'll take good care of you."  
  
"One hundred and eighty-three years, actually." Audra said, coming back into the room with a long plastic box in her arms. She settled the box down in Kindra's arms. "Plug in those heating pads and get that bed nice and warm."  
  
"Yes'm." Kindra nodded, moving from the bed to the floor next to the bedside table, plugging the heating pad in the electrical socket where the bedside lamp was plugged in. She settled the heating pad between the two towels that served as a mattress, then laid out the single recieving blanket over it to warm.  
  
Audra pulled on a pair of gloves from her bag. "Alrighty, Miss Selene." she said as pleasantly as possible. "Just lay back and try to relax."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Another cliffhanger!! Fun! *chuckles* Don't worry. Chapter 10 is being written as we speak! So, what did you think? Was it good? Bad? Tell me in a review!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	10. Chapter 10

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Hello, and welcome to chapter 10!! My gosh, I hit the big 1-0 . . . cool. I have gotten such lovely reviews for this story, and I'm truly honored that so many people are enjoying it. When I put this up on ffnet, I really was only writing it for me- I didn't think anyone else would read it- but what a pleasant surprise I recieved! You guys are awesome! Thanx!  
  
Read, enjoy, review!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its characters- I only kidnap them and play with them when Len Wiseman isn't looking! *chuckles*  
  
Rating: . . . why do I even put this? It isn't R yet- and when it will be, it will be for blood, gore, and cussing . . . later. I promise.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
There was a baby crying somewhere; Selene could just barely hear it, but it was there- a sweet, soft mewling like a newborn kitten crying for milk. The vampiress opened her eyes, blinking away the blurriness. She was in her bed, in her room. All was quiet now, and the room was dark- lit only by the bedside lamp.  
  
With a tired sigh, she brought her hands down from her chest to rest on her stomach, but when she felt it was no longer full, everything rushed back to her. She quickly sat up, ignoring the swell of pain it brought with it. Panic flushed over her, pushing the pain to the back of her mind.  
  
"Michael! Michael!"  
  
Michael stuck his head out the bathroom door, shaving cream dotting his chin. "Selene? What's wrong?" he asked.   
  
"Michael, what happened?! Where is- I-"  
  
The hybrid came from the bathroom, grabbing a hand towel and wiping his chin off before he reached the bed. "Calm down. What's the matter?" he asked, settling on the bed next to her.  
  
"The baby! Michael-"  
  
He put his arms around her, pulling her close to him and settling his finger against her lips. "Shhh. She's asleep." he answered her softly. "You had her last night, remember? Audra came and Kindra was here?"  
  
"She?"  
  
The hybrid nodded, smiling brightly. "It's a girl."  
  
"Where . . ?"  
  
The halfbreed only smiled again, standing from the bed and walking to the little moses basket resting on the trunk at the foot of the bed. Gently, he reached down into it and lifted out a tiny, pink bundle that made soft mewling sounds as he did. He cradled the bundle to his chest, then brought it to Selene and settled it into her arms.  
  
Selene cradled it just as gently, pulling the pink recieving blanket away so she could have her first look at the tiny newborn laying inside it. The newborn in her arms had pale, creamy skin, and dark fuzzy black hair that stuck up every-which way, and a few seconds later, when she opened her eyes, revealed a stunning set that were a mix of brown and green. The baby was tiny, only about as long as Selene's forearm.  
  
"Audra said she's perfectly healthy." Michael said softly, taking his seat next to Selene. "She's a little thing, but she's strong. Sixteen inches long, only three and a half pounds. She's gorgeous, isn't she?"  
  
Selene could only nod, struck speechless as her daughter's eyes held her own for a few, precious seconds before fluttering shut with fatigue.  
  
A soft knock came at the door. "Selene? Michael?" Kindra's voice was soft, but urgent.  
  
Michael stood and walked to the door, opening it to see what the girl wanted. "Yes?"  
  
"I was on my way to see Lucian." she began. "I heard Selene yell. Is everything okay?"  
  
"Oh, yes. She's just fine. She woke up and didn't know where the baby was."   
  
"Thank heavens." murmered the girl, one hand cupped over her heart. "Well, while I'm here, is there anything I can get for you? Are you hungry?"  
  
"I'm fine, but I'm sure Selene is starving."  
  
"I'll bring her up a cup of blood." Kindra said. "I just have to speak with Lucian first, but that should only take a few seconds."   
  
Michael nodded, shutting the door when the young vampire turned to continue down the hall. He returned to the bed, sitting next to Selene. When he put his arms around her, she leaned against him. "What should we name her?" he asked quietly. "We can't call her 'Baby' for the rest of her life."   
  
"We never had any time to think of names." Selene murmered, laying the baby out in her lap and unfolding the blankets.  
  
"Well, we have time now." said Michael, leaning his head down against Selene's.  
  
"Where'd this come from?" Selene asked, smoothing down the little white smocked dress that Baby wore. "This isn't one of our's."  
  
Michael chuckled quietly. "Nothing we have is small enough for her." he explained. "Erika gave us this- plus a whole pile of little girlie clothes. She bought girl and boy clothes before she had Nicolas- just in case."  
  
"Oh."  
  
A few minutes of comfortable silence passed before another knock sounded at the door. Again, Michael got up to answer it. Standing behind the door, Lucian and Marcus held serious expressions on their faces. Between them, Kindra looked pleasant as ever, a jar of blood and a tall glass in her hands.  
  
"Blood for Selene." Kindra said quietly, slipping around Michael and approaching the bed.  
  
"Spare a minute?" Marcus asked Michael, though there was little question behind it. Michael only nodded, stepping with them from the room, shutting the door behind him.  
  
Kindra walked to the bedside table, settling the glass down on it and filling it with blood. "You must drink to replenish your strength." the girl said softly, setting the jar down. She held the glass out to Selene. "You'll be ship-shape by tomorrow evening."  
  
Selene only nodded, taking the offered glass. "Kindra, when she was born, was she okay?" she asked softly. "Or was she like Nikkie?"  
  
"Darling was just fine." Kindra answered. "Yes, she was like Nikkie- didn't want to breathe for a few seconds- but as soon as she was warm, she let out a wail." The baby was gently lifted from Selene's lap, and laid on the bed next to her. Kindra, noticing Selene's heartbeat change, smiled softly. "Don't worry, Selene. I'm not taking her away."  
  
The vampiress almost blushed, but sipped from her glass instead.  
  
"Have you chosen her name yet?" Kindra asked, lifted the little smocked dress up and checking the bandage over the baby's umbilical stump.  
  
"No." Selene answered. "Before yesterday, there was never time to think about names. We never even thought about whether we were having a boy or a girl."   
  
"Well, what did you wish for?"  
  
"Wasn't time for wishing."   
  
Kindra only nodded, smoothing Baby's dress down and rewrapping her. She settled her back into Selene's lap, then took the vampiress's glass. She refilled it and gave it back. "Well, what are some names you like?" she asked. "How about Hannah? I've always loved that name."  
  
Selene shook her head. "Too many Hannahs as it is."  
  
"Hmmm . . . Paige? Heather? Jessica?"  
  
Again, the vampiress shook her head.  
  
"Hmm. Surely you don't like names like Helga or Olga- or Hermione."   
  
"No."  
  
"Well, you'll think of something lovely for her. Whatever you pick, she'll make lovely."  
  
In Selene's lap, Baby began to whimper again, sounding more like a newborn kitten than a newborn hybrid. Kindra took Selene's glass so that the vampire would have two hands to care for her newborn.   
  
Selene lifted baby up into her arms, using her free hand to caress the baby's cheek. The simple gesture was enough to quietned the newborn for a few seconds, but the mewling quickly returned, becoming soft cries.  
  
"Here." Kindra said softly. She produced a little pink pacifier, which she dipped into Selene's glass, then held out to Baby's lips. The baby accepted it, sucking the blood off of it. "She's hungry." said the girl. "You can figure out how to feed her, can't you? I don't have to go get Audra to show you, do I?" She asked with a gentle laugh.  
  
"I'm fine." Selene answered, but made no move to feed the newborn.  
  
"Shy then?" asked the girl, once again refilling Selene's glass. "Be sure to finish that." she said, taking up her jar. "I'll come for your glass in a little while. Bye Selene, bye Baby." With that, she went to the door, and slipped outside, pulling the door firmly shut to give the new mother her privacy.  
  
Selene sighed when the girl left, unbuttoning the gown she was wearing, and holding Baby so she could feed. "My little one . . " she murmered contentedly. "Do you think your Papa would be too angry if I named you after . . . " The vampiress trailed off, turning her eyes to the door, then back to the newborn in her arms. "My daughter, my Sondra."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
So, what did you think? Good? Bad? Tell me in a review!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	11. Chapter 11

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Welcome to chapter 11! Before we begin, I would like to address a review I recieved for chapter 10 regarding baby Sondra's name- and YES, that is the baby's name. The reviewer asked me- or rather told me- that I should have named the baby SONJA. Well, I thought long and hard months ago when I was begining to create this story in my head, but I thought no. I'll explain why: Naming her Sonja would be honoring, yes, but you must remember that they live with Lucian. If you were him, would you want to hear the name of your dead mate serveral times a day until the ends of eternity? I, for one, wouldn't. It would be too saddening. Sondra, actually, is named after someone else- read and see. Okay, end of my blog.  
  
Oh, by the way, thank you to DARK ANGEL COVEN for all the help, listening, worship . . . yeah. Thanxx, DCA. Love ya!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its many characters. I only play with them now and then. No chop 'sue'y, 'kay?  
  
Rating: Eh, PG-13 cause I say so.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Michael followed Lucian and Marcus down the hallway and into Lucian's sitting room. He was directed to sit on the couch, and he did, the two elders standing before him. Suddenly, he felt very much like the troubled teen sitting in front of the school principals.  
  
"First off: Congratulations." Lucian began, and Marcus nodded. "You are very lucky that both Selene and your daughter have made it alive."  
  
Again, Marcus nodded. "And now that the baby is born, and both are safe and being taken care of, it is time for you to pay out your end of the deal."  
  
"You want Kraven." Michael stated.   
  
"Exactly." said Lucian. "You've got a month with your family, then the three of us are going on a little manhunt. Sources tell us the bastard is in France, and if we want him, we must go after him."   
  
"In a month." Michael crossed his arms, watching the two elders.  
  
"Yes, in a month." Marcus reiterated. "But when we go, it might not be to France; he could move before then."  
  
"Either way, we should only be gone for about six weeks. If we don't have him before then, we'll return here and set up another trap- but I do have high hopes for you, Michael." Lucian said almost quietly.  
  
"We'll discuss this more, later. Right now, you should be with Selene." said Marcus.  
  
"Yes." agreed the lycans' champion. "So go on."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Michael almost ran the thirty feet down the hall to the room he shared with Selene. He opened the door, and slipped inside. Selene was laying on her back, Baby laid on her chest sleeping. The simple scene was enough to give him pause, and a chance to examine his tiny family.   
  
Selene turned her head to watch him approach the bed. "What did Lucian and Marcus want?" she asked softly, moving her right hand off of Baby's back, and holding it out to Michael.  
  
The hybrid took her hand, kissed it, and eased onto the bed beside her. He laid on his side, facing her, one arm propping up his head, the other coming to rest lightly over the newborn's tiny back. "I have a month." he answered softly, leaning down and kissing Selene. "That's the deal."  
  
"What deal?"  
  
"In trade for us staying here- for us being safe here with the baby- I am going to help Marcus and Lucian hunt down Kraven." He leaned over and kissed the sleeping infant's cheek. "They say he is in France now, but he could move before the month is out."   
  
"You have only a month with us?"   
  
"A month can be a long time." Michael said reassuringly. "And we'd only be gone a short while. Erika and Nikkie have to stay behind, too, so you won't be totally alone." He settled his head down next to her's. "Have you thought of any names for Baby?"  
  
Selene nodded. "I want to call her Sondra."  
  
"Sondra, hmm?" Michael asked, his hand moving to pet his daughter's fuzzy, black hair. "I like it."  
  
"It . . . it was my sister's name." murmered the vampiress- her voice so soft, Michael wasn't sure he heard it.  
  
"It's a beautiful name." he said softly, pulling her closer to him. "So, Sondra it is."  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"Sondra, hmm?" Kindra said, smiling down at the tiny baby in her lap. "I love it- it's perfect."   
  
Erika, who was sitting in Selene's rocking chair, rocking Nikkie, nodded in agreement. "It's just adorable."  
  
"What a little darling you are . . . " murmered the young vampire, carefully dressing Sondra in a little white sleeper. She looked up from Sondra, turning to see Selene. "Has Audra came by to give her another checking over?"  
  
Selene was sitting at the vanity in her nightgown and robe, running a comb through her wet hair. She settled the comb on the table, and shook her head. "No. I didn't know she was going to come."  
  
"She doesn't have to." Kindra said with a shrug, buttoning the last button on Sondra's outfit, then lifting the baby up onto her shoulder. "Sondra's strong as an oxling- I can tell- but the doctor in Audra won't keep her away long."  
  
"Where is Michael?" Selene asked, glancing at the clock.  
  
Erika raised one dainty eyebrow. "Impatient, are we?" she teased lightly. She moved Nikkie onto her shoulder to burp him. "You should know men by now, Selene. They say ten thirty, but they really mean eleven."  
  
"Lucian and Marcus won't keep them away much longer." Kindra said softly, "They're only in Sanguis- it's just a ten minutes walk through the underground if you're so anxious."  
  
"I'm not anxious." Selene scowled lightly in the mirror. "I only asked."  
  
"Sure." Erika mumbled.  
  
Kindra chuckled, leaning back against the headboard of the bed. "It's okay to miss him while he's gone- even if it is only to the other castles. It's natural- I mean, you just had his baby."   
  
Selene directed her scowl at Kindra for a few seconds, then lifted her comb and resumed trying to detangle her hair.  
  
"You should have seen Erika after Nikkie was born." Kindra mumbled quietly, "She freaked if he left the ROOM, let alone the castle."   
  
Erika dropped her jaw. "I DID NOT!"   
  
The dark-haired vampiress managed a smile at the thought. "I can actually picture that."  
  
"Cut it out, you two! Enough teasing." Erika scowled, then pouted for a few seconds before her usually happy demeaner returned. "Hey, want to go meet the men at the gates?"  
  
"I don't think Selene should move so much yet." Kindra shook her head. "She'll hurt herself."  
  
"I AM still in the room, you know." mumbled the vampiress. She stood from the vanity and pushed in her chair before making her way to the bed to collect Sondra from Kindra's arms.  
  
Kindra stood up, giving Selene her seat, then laid out across the foot of the bed with a tiny yawn.  
  
"Kim?" Erika murmered, standing up and walking till she was standing over the baby blood.  
  
"Hmm?" Kindra asked.  
  
Erika poked her in the side, then sat next to her. "Where in the world did you get those pants?" she laughed, gesturing to the black leather flares the girl was wearing. She tugged at the bottom hem of the white tank the girl also wore. "And is that my top?"  
  
Kindra reached up and took Nikkie, laying him on her chest. "Top's mine, and the pants- Selene gave 'em to me."  
  
The blonde laughed again, turning to see Selene. "Afraid you'll never fit them again?"  
  
"No." Selene shook her head. "They're too baggy in the calf. If they caught on something at the wrong moment, I'd be dead."  
  
"You're a mommy now, Selene." Kindra said quietly, petting Nikkie's blonde hair. "Your warrior days are over- at least for now."  
  
Before Selene could retort, the door opened. Michael, Marcus, Damon, and Lucian were still chatting when they entered, but quietened themselves when they entered the bedroom.  
  
"Hello." Damon said with a slight bow, walking around the bed and crouching down next to Kindra's face.  
  
Michael made his way to Selene as Marcus went to Erika. Lucian took over the rocking chair.   
  
"Hello." Kindra murmered to Damon, letting Erika take Nicolas back. The baby blood sat up, scooting so she was level with Damon before whispering to him. "Je me suis ennuye de vous. C'a ete des jours. (I have missed you. It has been days.)"  
  
He half smiled, half smirked. "Vous m'honorez. Venez avec moi. Je souhaite vous montrer quelque chose. (You honor me. Come with me. I wish to show you something.)"  
  
Kindra nodded, standing up. "If you will excuse us . . ?" She bowed to the two vampiresses, smiled to Marcus and Michael, then to Lucian, before letting Damon lead her from the room.  
  
Once the two were gone, Erika chuckled. "Too cute."  
  
"Was that French?" Michael asked to the room.  
  
"Mm-hmm." nodded the blonde vampiress.  
  
"Kindra is from France." Lucian answered. "She taught her language to Damon so they could speak privately." He smirked. "She still doesn't know Marcus and I are rather fluent in it." Michael and Erika chuckled.  
  
"You should tell her you know what they are saying." Erika said, gently shoving Marcus. "What if they were talking about something personal?"  
  
Lucian scowled. "They have nothing personal to talk about." he grumbled.  
  
The others gave him surprised looks- some better hidden than others. Michael spoke. "You have a soft spot for the girl, don't you." he accused.  
  
The scowl remained on Lucian's features. "What exactly are you insinuating, Mike?"  
  
Michael frowned at the nickname, but answered the question. "She's like your daughter, isn't she. You sound like an overprotective father."  
  
"You only NOW noticed that?" Marcus asked the young hybrid. "We must work on your observation skills. We're all still amazed that Kindra hasn't started to call Lucian 'Papa' yet!"  
  
Selene turned her head to the side the tiniest bit. "It's almost sweet."  
  
Erika smiled. "Just wait to watch him once Damon and Kindra decide to breed."  
  
Lucian glared at her for a few seconds, his mood made fouler when she only ignored him to coo at her son. With yet another scowl, he stood from the chair. "There is business to attend to. Marcus?"  
  
"Coming." said the elder. He patted Nikkie back. "See you two tonight."  
  
Erika nodded, watching the two men leave. She then took to her feet. "I'm going to go lay Nikkie down." she said, heading for the door.  
  
"Come tell us what Damon and Kindra say." Selene called absently, then smirked when Erika tossed a 'will do' over her shoulder.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Well, what are your thoughts?  
  
The Lady Mage 


	12. Chapter 12

Greetings from The Lady Mage  
  
Welcome to chapter 12! Before we begin, I really must give some shout-outs! I keep meaning to do this, then remember right after pushing submit. -__- Anyway, thanx go to these faithful reviewers: Jubille-gurl, Anon, Lady K2, DarkAngelCoven, Iridescent eyes, Akemi Akibi, Vampyric Angel, Spikes-storm, and Redd. Love you guys!  
  
Now, on to the story! Read, enjoy, review!!  
  
Disclaimer: *The Lady Mage stands* I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its many wonderful characters . . . I just kidnap them and play with them when Mr. Wiseman isn't looking!! *sticks out tongue, realises what she is doing, sits back, clears throat.* Ahem, uh, Underworld belongs to their respective owners- I just own Nikkie, Sondra, Kindra, Damon, and any other names that appear here and not in the movie. *shrugs* Why are you still reading this? Go read the chapter!  
  
Rating: Eh, PG cause I say so.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"I . . . I don't want you to go." Selene whispered softly, watching Michael toss a handful of clothes into a duffel bag. He paused when she spoke, dropping the bag and coming to her side.  
  
"I don't want to leave you." he murmered, embracing the vampiress. He tucked her head under his chin, and rested his cheek on top of it. "But I must. I made a deal with Lucian and with Marcus- I can't back out of it."  
  
The vampiress sighed, nodded ever-so-slightly, but remained in his arms until Sondra began to cry a few minutes later. The now one-month old baby was laid out on the bed between two pillows, dressed in another little white sleeper. The two new parents quietly separated so Selene could tend to Sondra. Michael returned to packing.  
  
Selene lifted the still-tiny baby and cuddled her until she was quiet. By then, Michael's bag was packed, and he joined his mate and child beside the bed.  
  
"It will only be a few weeks." he mumbled, leaning down to kiss Sondra's patch of fuzzy hair. "You won't even be missing me before I get back."   
  
"Six weeks is a long time to miss out." Selene returned, letting him take Sondra. She watched him coax a little smile from their daughter. "What if you miss something big? What if she gets sick? You won't be here to help me."  
  
Michael turned to her. "No, but Kindra and Erika are still here. They can help you until I return."  
  
"Kindra and Erika are not Sondra's father. YOU are."  
  
Sondra yawned in her father's arms, then promptly spit up all down his bare chest. Michael paused for a few seconds before crinkling his nose and holding Sondra out to Selene. The vampiress smirked, watching Michael hurry into the bathroom before the pink spittle could reach the hem of his jeans.   
  
There came a soft knock on the door before Kindra stuck her head in. She spotted Selene and Sondra, then slipped inside. The baby blood was sporting Selene's leather pants under what Selene recognised as one of Lucian's black buttonups, except Kindra had it tied at her waist instead of buttoning it up over her white tanktop. The girl also sported a depressed pout which she quickly attempted to hide.  
  
"Lucian's ready." she murmered softly. "I'm to check on Michael and Marcus."  
  
"Michael is almost ready." Selene said softly, using a handy burprag to clean the spittle off of Sondra's little chin. "You okay?"  
  
Kindra nodded. "He's not even gone, but I miss Lucian already." she murmered, a genuine pout crossing her features for a few seconds. "I hope they aren't gone too terribly long."  
  
"At least you still have Damon." Erika appeared in the nursery doorway, Nikkie asleep in her arms.  
  
"Well, Lucian isn't to me what Damon is. Lucian . . . " The girl stopped, shook her head, and turned to the door. "Tell Michael and Marcus to hurry." she murmered, sounding rather melancholy. She paused at the door. "I only had to tell you that- as far as I'm concerned, you can stall them all you like." With that, the girl slipped from the room, leaving the two mothers to sulk together.  
  
Kindra walked back to Lucian's room, not bothering to knock before slipping inside. He hardly acknowledged her as he finished buttoning up his maroon shirt, but his eyes did meet her's in his dressing mirror. She gave him a stubborn scowl, turning away and going about finishing the rest of his packing.  
  
"Are you angry or are you sad, girl?" he asked her, turning to view her back.  
  
"A little of both, I think." she answered honestly, zipping up his bag. "I don't want you to leave- I never do."   
  
He almost smirked. "I'll be back before the lillies wilt." he said, pleased with her attatchment to him.  
  
"If I poisoned them so that they did so, would you return any sooner?" She threw a pout over her shoulder at him, then turning to face him. "You better not let that rat-fink hurt you! You better not get yourself killed!" she said, her tone edging on warning. "And you damn-well better drag his bloody hyde back here so we can nail it to the front door."   
  
This time, Lucian let the smirk cross his features. "Will do."   
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
"Kindra?"   
  
The young vampire looked up from the baby in her arms as Damon stepped into Nicolas's nursery. The equally young lycan gave her a small smile, pulling the door to Erika and Marcus's room shut behind him. "I've been looking for you."  
  
"I've been right here." she murmered softly, pulling the bottle from Nicolas's lips. Sleeping, he made no protest. "At least, I have for the past half hour."  
  
"Lucian told me you had run off again." Damon said quietly, coming to the rocking chair Kindra sat in, and crouching down beside it. "You are upset."  
  
"How do you know?"  
  
"Besides the obvious?" he mumbled, eyes searching over her face. "I can smell the salt of your tears." His eyes moved back to her own, blue meeting green. "Lucian may be leaving for a little while, but . . I am still here with you."  
  
The auburn-haired girl smiled. "Je m'ennuierais de vous davantage, (I would miss you more,)" she whispered, leaning forward in the chair. "Si vous me laissent. (should you leave me)"  
  
Damon smiled rather wolfishly at her. "Alors je vous sauverai un chagrin d'amour et resterai pres de vous. (Then I will save you the heartache and remain beside you.)"  
  
"Comment noble de vous. (How noble of you.)" Kindra chuckled softly. "J'etendrai Nicolas pour avaler. Nous irons quelque part nous pouvons parler. (I will lay Nicolas down. We will go somewhere we can speak.)"  
  
The young lycan moved away so she could stand, and watched her as she carried the hybrid newborn to the crib, taking great interest in how gently she laid him down and how she kissed him goodnight. Once Nikkie was taken care of, Kindra turned back to Damon. He stood up to take her hand.  
  
"La bibliotheque? (The library?)" Damon asked. Kindra nodded, allowing him to lead her out of the nursery.  
  
The library was on the first floor, just off of the main hall, and housed well over a thousand books- some new, some older than Lucian himself. The room was lined with shelves from floor to ceiling, with standing shelves along one side, and several tables for reading. Kindra and Damon slipped inside, shutting the door behind them.  
  
Damon lead the young vampiress to the far corner of the room to an oversized, leather reading chair. He took his seat, then pulled her down into his lap. Kindra laid back against the arm of the chair, her gloved hands crossed on her stomach.  
  
"Six semaines est un long temps. (They will be gone for a long time.)" Kindra murmered, resting her head against Damon's shoulder.  
  
"Il n'est rien. Nous sommes les immortels. (It is nothing. We are the immortal.)" Damon murmered, bringing his tanned arms around her waist. "Six semaines est mais clignotement d'un oeil. (Six weeks is but an eye's blink.)"  
  
"Si vous dites ainsi. (If you say so.)"  
  
"Je. (I do.)"  
  
Before anymore could be said, the library's grand doors swung open. A lycan woman entered the room, bowing ever so slightly to the two before speaking. "It is almost time for supper." she said with a smile. "We're having all the leaders favorites. At least they'll have one good meal in their gullets before they leave in the morning."  
  
"We'll be along in a moment, Taya." Damon said with a pleasant grin. "Tell Mama I'll come see her in the morning, okay?"  
  
Taya nodded, tucking her greying hair behind her ears. "Will do." With that, she turned and exited the room, pulling the doors shut behind her.  
  
"Don't worry about Lucian too much." Damon said quietly. "He's strong. Nothing can hurt him. He'll return safe and sound." He gave his love a little squeeze. "In the meantime, I believe I should like to keep you company."  
  
"I believe I should like that very much." Kindra grinned. Damon smiled back at her, giving her a peck on the cheek before helping her out of his lap.  
  
"Come on or we'll miss supper." he murmered, an arm about her shoulders. "And you'll miss your chance to scowl at Lucian while he eats for a half hour."  
  
Kindra giggled as she and Damon left the library.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Lucian sat at the head of the long table, hands in his lap, watching Marcus and Erika tease one another, and Michael and Selene try not to join in- the two still unused to expressing affection in public. The table was covered in food- human, lycan, and vampire tastes alike. The small, private dining room was soothingly quiet, setting a calm mood for the three leaders' last evening before their manhunt.  
  
The lycanthropic alpha glanced to his right, just out of the corners of his eyes. Kindra sat in a little rocking chair that Damon had moved into the room for her. Sondra and Nikkie were both sleeping in their carriers at her feet, and the young 'nanny' was sipping at a cup of some concoction of blood, wine, and soda.   
  
Feeling his eyes on her, Kindra turned her head to him, a pout playing at her lips. Lucian almost scowled- the baby blood somehow was managing to make him almost feel sorry for leaving his own damn castle. Standing next to Kindra, Damon just barely bared his teeth at him- as if he had almost forgotten who it was that Kindra was pouting for- but the young lycan quickly remembered.  
  
"You know, you pouting like that does nothing." Lucian turned and said to the girl. Kindra raised one eyebrow as if in challenge, smirking to bare her set of pearly-white fangs. Damon glowered, crossing his arms. "The traitor must be found- and I want to be one of the men to catch him."  
  
"You're doing just what she wants you to." Marcus said to Lucian. "She pouts, you scowl, she pouts, you feel guilty, she pouts, you stay here a day or two longer . . . " Next to him, Erika snickered.  
  
"Would you take me for manipulative?" Kindra asked, resting her chin on her gloved fist.   
  
"You're a woman. Yes." Marcus answered, then ducked away from Erika's hand as she tried to swat the back of his head. "Ow! Hey!" He turned in his chair so he could see Kindra. "We will only be gone a short while. You needn't worry."   
  
"Asking me not to worry is like asking me to stop breathing. It is in my nature to worry." murmered the girl.  
  
"Well, Kend, you have little to worry about." Lucian commented almost absently, lifting his cup.  
  
"Have I?"  
  
"Kend, that's enough." Damon said quietly, laying one hand on her shoulder.  
  
The girl pouted once more, but kept quiet, relaxing back into her rocker, resting her hand on Damon's as the two kept watch while their leaders ate. She'd wait and speak later when not so many people would be in the room.  
  
* ~ * ~ *  
  
Any thoughts? Next chappie will be another 'cute one' then finally- hopefully- story picks back up. -__- Eh, we can try. . . besides, I think that the cuteness is the only thing keeping some of you people reading this . . .   
  
Questions? Comments? Review!!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	13. Chapter 13

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
Hello, and welcome to chapter 13 of Second Chances. Sorry for such the long wait, but it has been terribly busy around here. I had to take my GED, I got called in to work twice to work someone else's hours, and my grandfather has gone into the hospital to have surgery on his back. (He's fine, and he's actually coming home today!) So you see that I have had little time to work on this story!! Thanks for those who still bother to put up with me: VA, DCA, IE- you know who you guys are. Love you all, and thanx ever-so-much for all the reviews!  
  
Disclaimer: The Lady Mage stands I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of its many dynamic characters . . . I just like to kidnap them once in a while and play evil scientist with them . . .   
  
Rating: Still PG to PG-13. I just am not ready to make that step up . . . chuckles Trust me, it's gunna get better soon enough.  
  
The Lady Mage

* * *

"Slumber party?" Kindra murmered quietly, coming and laying across the foot of Erika's bed.   
  
The blonde vampiress was sitting at the headboard, drying Nikkie off from his bath. She turned her head to see the younger girl. "Depends."  
  
"On what?"  
  
"Whether or not we can sleep alone tonight." mumbled the blonde, diapering the hybrid infant in her lap.  
  
"We've tried the past three times to go it alone- without success. I give in." said the girl, stretching like a cat. "You cannot sleep without your Marcus; I cannot sleep while worrying about Lucian."  
  
Erika frowned for a few seconds, snapping up Nikkie's blue sleeper. Suddenly, she smirked. "Do you think Selene will last alone?"  
  
Kindra pouted. "Perhaps I should be offering to keep her company instead?"  
  
"Leave me not!" Erika returned Kindra's pout, standing off the bed. She settled into the rocking chair, intending to feed Nikkie and put him to bed. "If Selene is lonely, she's welcome here, though I doubt she would take us up on our offer."   
  
"Speaking of Selene, I should go check on Sondra." Kindra mumbled, sitting up and scooting off the bed. "I'll be right back." Erika only nodded, her attentions on her son, as the baby blood slipped from the room.  
  
The former Death Dealer was laying out her nightgown when Kindra entered the bedroom. She hardly looked up to see her, as used to the girl as she was. Kindra looked down into the little pink basinet, making sure Sondra was sleeping before speaking to Selene.   
  
"Lonely yet?" Kindra asked quietly. Selene only scowled at her. "I'll take that as 'Selenese' for yes." The baby blood held in a smirk as the vampiress's scowl deepened.  
  
"I thought you were helping Erika bathe Nicolas." Selene said, lifting her chosen gown and moving to the changing screen to put it on.   
  
"I did. Erika's putting him to sleep right now." said the girl, making herself comfortable at the vanity table. "I came to bug you until she is finished."  
  
"Why don't you go bother Damon?"  
  
"Because he is working today." answered Kindra. "Anyway, I have come to you with a reason."  
  
Selene, dressed in her white nightgown, came from behind the screen. "And that is?" she prompted, pausing to check on Sondra before coming to the vanity.   
  
"When Marcus and Lucian leave, Erika and I cannot sleep well." said the girl, allowing Selene the vanity chair. "So we have like a slumber party. We stay in her bed and talk until we do fall asleep. Erika says you can stay with us if you like."   
  
The dark-haired woman gave her a surprised look, then scowled. "I'll be fine by myself, thankyou." she said, her stubborn streak rearing its head.  
  
"It's whatever you want, dollface. I'm only giving you an opportunity." Kindra shrugged. "Call me if you need me. I'm going to change, then I'll be in Erika's room. Goodnight."  
  
"'Night."  
  
"Did you ever finish that Anne Rice novel I leant you?" Kindra asked. She was laid on her stomach, a historical novel held out in front of her. Erika was seated next to her, a trashy romance in her hands. The two were sharing a bag of potato chips and a bowl of bloody sourcream dip while they read.  
  
"Yes. It's on the bureau." Erika answered absently.  
  
"You like?"  
  
"Was okay."  
  
Kindra put her book down. "Okay? Just okay?" She gave Erika a disbelieving look. "You have to be kidding. How could you not love it? Interview With the Vampire was such a beautiful book!"  
  
"Okay, the part with the little girl-"  
  
"-Claudia-"  
  
"Yes, Claudia, was sad, but the rest of it was vastly uninteresting." Erika said, setting her book down to eat a chip.   
  
Kindra scowled. "You've ruined yourself with all that smut you read. You don't know what is good anymore." She grabbed the book from Erika's hands and read the cover. "In Strong Arms." She scowled. "You should be reading something good: War and Peace, Gone With the Wind, Jane Eyre."  
  
The blonde snatched her book back. "I like my books just fine, thankyou."  
  
"Because you know no better . . . " Kindra whispered, smirking at Erika's scowl. She stuck her tongue out at the older woman, sitting up and closing her book. The book was dropped on the bed as the girl turned to stand up. She paused, turning towards the nursery door.  
  
Selene stood, leaned against the doorjam, Sondra cradled in her arms. She was watching the two on the bed, an almost interested look on her face.  
  
Kindra smiled. "Hi."  
  
"Hi." Selene murmered.  
  
Erika looked up. "You need anything?"  
  
"I . . just wanted to say goodnight." Selene answered, transferring her sleeping daughter onto her shoulder. "Are you two going to sleep?"  
  
"In a few minutes, yes." Kindra said. "Erika's eaten all the dip, and I've nearly finished my book." She stretched her arms up over her head, her pajama top riding up to show her navel. "Yourself?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Sure you don't want to join us?" Erika asked, setting her book and Kindra's on the nightstand. The bowl and chips followed it.  
  
"I'm sure." answered the vampiress.  
  
Kindra nodded. "You are a stronger woman than I then, to sleep so easily on a stomachful of knots."  
  
"My stomach isn't full of knots." Selene scowled.  
  
"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, dollface." Kindra said sweetly, then yawned behind her silk-gloved fist. "Don't worry though. I bet he's just as uncomfortable as you are right now."   
  
"Why don't you lay Sondra down in Nikkie's crib, and come sit with us for a while?" offered Erika. "Just us girls?"  
  
After a few seconds of silence, Selene nodded, turning back into the nursery. She came back out without Sondra, and walked to the foot of the bed, making herself comfortable at the end of it.  
  
Kindra offered her a book from the stack on her side of the bed. "Want a good read?"  
  
Selene shook her head. "Not really in the mind to read." she murmered.   
  
"What are you in the mind to do?" Erika asked, laying back against the pillows. Selene shrugged, loosely crossing her arms.  
  
"Sleepy yet?" Kindra asked.   
  
"I don't think so." Selene mumbled.  
  
"Hmm . . . have you been to the garden yet?" asked the baby blood. "They started planting it last week. Damon says that you can already see a little green peaking up through the earth."  
  
"Is Damon working in the garden?" inquired Selene. "I haven't seen him lately."  
  
"That's because when he isn't working, he's with Kindra." Erika explained with a light chuckle. "I told you when you came here they were inseperable."   
  
"We are quite separable." Kindra corrected quietly, laying back beside Erika. "His father hates me, and tries to keep Damon as far from me as possible. That is why he is always so busy lately."   
  
"Why does his father hate you?" Selene asked, crawling to the head of the bed and stretching out next to the baby blood.  
  
"Because I'm a vampire." answered the girl. "He wants Damon to settle with a nice young lycan, not a blood."  
  
"Garret's an ass." Erika commented. "Marcus says he starts a lot of fights when he has to work in Sanguis."  
  
"But Shena loves me." Kindra said with a small smile. "She already calls me her daughter." She paused to yawn. "And Damon's older sisters concider me one of them."  
  
Selene propped her head up on the pillows, trying to hide a yawn of her own. "I didn't know he had sisters."  
  
The baby blood nodded. "Oh, yes. He has two sisters- Ginsa and Esune. You've seen them, I'm sure. They both work in the kitchen with their mother. They both have black hair and blue eyes like Damon."   
  
"When do you think he'll work up the nerve to make a bond with you?" Erika yawned, turning on her side and cuddling up next to the baby blood.  
  
"Soon, I hope." answered the girl, turning towards the blonde vampire. "We just have to get away from his father for a while."  
  
"I can help you with that." Erika mumbled. "I'll call for him tonight- say there's a task or two I need him to do." Kindra only nodded, her eyes fluttering closed. "You two can hide out in the nursery."  
  
Kindra barely shook her head. ". . . want to see the garden . . ." she murmered absently.  
  
"Oh? We ought to take Selene." Erika barely lifted her head to see over the now-slumbering Kindra. Selene was asleep, too, curled around a pillow. "Why am I always the last asleep?" the blonde grumbled to herself, then sighed, sitting up and pulling the thick blankets over the three of them.

* * *

Well? What do you think? Was it good? Was it bad? Do you love it? Do you hate it? Tell me in a review! Oh, and sorry for the shortness- next one will be longer as we explore Damon and Kindra! Eeh-hee!   
  
The Lady Mage 


	14. Chapter 14

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
AUTHOR NOTES: Hello, my faithful readers. Wow. I got five emails telling me to update this- three of which were death threats . . . which I'm not sure if I should be flattered about or kind of weirded out by, . . I'm going to pick flattered this morning. It's so great you guys like this! I so happy!  
  
Okay, down to the nit-grit. I HAVE to skip this on ahead or else I will never be able to finish it. So, it is now two years later- Nicolas and Sondra are both a little over two years old. To save time below, I will give you their descriptions now: Nicolas is about average height for a two year old, with white skin, big violet eyes, little rosebud lips, and long, thick, straight blonde hair in a bowl cut. Sondra is a little shorter, with white skin, her mother's eyes, and long, slightly-curly black hair cut just below her shoulders. Both are usually dressed up- Sondra in dresses and Nikkie in pants and a sweater or buttonup.   
  
And be happy, because KINDRA AND DAMON ARE MATES NOW! It's been two years, and whether or not Lucian likes it- though he minds little anymore- they have mated and are sharing the room between the nurseries. No children yet, but we can work on that, ne?  
  
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Underworld or any of its characters, plots, ect. I DO own my own characters- which is anyone with a name in here you didn't see in the movie. Simple enough. Thankyou.  
  
RATING: . . . eh, PG to PG-13.

* * *

Something was moving in the bed, crawling its way under the covers from the foot of the bed, up to the headboard. Selene glanced at Michael beside her, but he was fast asleep, mouth wide open. It wasn't him.  
  
After a few seconds, the little something crawling in the bed finally revealed itself as it reached the end of the covers. A little dark-haired head appeared.  
  
"Why have you awakened?" Selene asked quietly, pulling the dark-haired two-year old into her arms.   
  
Sondra wrapped her little arms around her mother's neck. "Want you." she whimpered softly, tucking her head down onto Selene's chest. "Need Mommy."  
  
Selene hid her smile, turning onto her side so that Sondra lay between her and Michael. "Mommy is here, and so is Daddy." she said softly. "Go back to sleep, hmm?" Sondra nodded, yawning as she curled up. Selene remained awake, watching over her.  
  
Even after two and a half years, it never ceased to amaze her how much her daughter resembled her. Yes, there was some Michael mixed in- the shape of his face and the dimples- but the rest of Sondra's face was her mother's- her eyes, her nose, her lips. Even Sondra's hair was jet black, and cut just below her chin. She had her father's fun-loving attitude, but below it lay her mother's seriousnous.  
  
Nikkie was much the same. He was everything his mother, and nothing his father. His face was Erika's, his hair was Erika's, his personality was Erika's. The only thing Marcus had given him was the dimple in his chin- end of story.   
  
"Well, well . . "  
  
Selene glanced up as Michael moved, turning on his side to face her and their sleeping daughter.   
  
He yawned, then put his arm over Selene's waist, pulling her and Sondra in tight to him. "Why is she in here?" he asked. "Bad dream again?"  
  
"She didn't say." Selene answered.  
  
Michael nodded once. "You should try to sleep." he mumbled. "Big night, tonight."  
  
"For you." she mumbled back. "You, Marcus, and Lucian will plow through the other fighters. It isn't fair at all."  
  
"That's why we let them compete amongst themselves first."  
  
Selene rolled her eyes, then yawned. "Whatever."

* * *

"Wake up, angel-face. We must get you dressed."  
  
Michael awoke first the next morning as Kindra carefully collected Sondra from the bed. Nikkie was at the foot of the bed, standing in his little blue pajamas, rubbing his eyes with his fists. "What time is it?"  
  
Kindra pulled a sleepy, but awake, Sondra up into her arms, then glanced at the clock across the room. "Almost eight in the evening. You should get up soon. Selene, as well." The vampiress moved to the end of the bed, lifting Nikkie and settling him on her other hip. "Lucian and Marcus are already awake- both down in the underground setting up."   
  
"Okay." Michael yawned. "Thanks." The young nanny only nodded, carrying both children into the nurseries. Michael turned to Selene. She slept, curled on her side, her face burrowed into her pillow as usual. "Selene? Babe?" He poked her in the shoulder, and snickered when she growled in her sleep. "Hey, time to get up. Wakey-wakey."  
  
"Leave . . me . . alone . . " Selene grumbled, pulling her face from the pillow to glare at him through sleepy, half-lidded eyes. "Why are you waking me at such an ungodly hour?"  
  
"Ungodly?" Michael chuckled despite her glaring. "It's eight!"  
  
"So?" Selene hissed, her arm snaking down between them. Feeling empty space, she leaned up. "Where's Sondra?"  
  
"Kindra has her." answered Michael, sitting up and stretching. He yawned once more. "You can go back to sleep if you like, but I've got to go talk to Marcus and Lucian."  
  
"I might as well get up. I'd never get back to sleep now anyway." grumbled the vampiress, sitting up and tossing the blankets back.  
  
Michael smirked. "Want to join me in the shower?" he offered slyly.  
  
Selene turned to glare at him again. "Why would I want to-" She paused, her scowl dropping the tiniest bit. "Oh . . . Yeah, okay."

* * *

"Here- put that pin through there." Lucian instructed, holding the pole up while Damon attatched it to the beam holding the large box together. This was to be the fighting ring- this giant 25x25 square space. That way, the rest of the coven could sit in relative safety around the fighters, and worry little about accidental injury. "Good."  
  
Damon dropped back down onto the floor, wiping the black grease off his hands on a dirty rag from the back pocket of his jeans. "Do you actually believe that this 'ring' will keep us in?" he asked.  
  
Lucian cocked his head to the side the tiniest bit, his eyes roaming over the metal and wooden structure. He shook his head. "The lycans? No." he answered. "Deffinatly not. The vampires, though . . . "  
  
"I heard that, Lucian." Marcus called from across the room, turning from the group of vampires he was giving instruction to glare at the lycan's alpha. "Just wait till this morning."  
  
Lucian only smirked rather wolfishly before turning back to the young lycan at his side. "Are you going to fight, Damon?"  
  
"You bet." answered the young man, brushing his hair from his eyes. "And Kindra's going to be in the front rooting for me! I'll beat the snot out of all the others in my class."  
  
"You're a confident pup, aren't you?" Marcus accused lightly, coming over to survey the ring.  
  
"It's for a reason." Damon said casually, crossing his arms. "Now that this is up, what is left to do?" he asked, gesturing to the giant ring.  
  
"Rest up I guess." Lucian answered. "The others are setting out the seating."  
  
Michael appeared in the doorway. "I miss anything?" he asked, walking up to the three, eyes taking in everything around him. "Guess so."  
  
"Oh, you show up at just the right time to NOT have to do anything." Damon teased. "Is the missus up?"   
  
"Yeah. She's getting dressed." answered the hybrid.  
  
"What about mine?" asked Damon.  
  
"Kindra is tending to Sondra and Nicolas."  
  
"May I-"  
  
Lucian caught the young lycan off. "Yes, you can go." he said, giving him a little shove towards the door.  
  
"Thanks." Damon half smirked. "See you later."

* * *

"I hungry!" Sondra announced as Kindra pulled the little girl's arms through the sleeves of her white sundress. "I want go eat!"   
  
"After you both are dressed." Kindra returned, putting a pair of lacy socks on the girl, then a pair of white maryjanes. "Go sit at the table while I dress Nikkie." The toddler was set on the floor and scooted to the tiny tea table in the center of the room.   
  
"Nikkie dressed?" murmered the little blonde boy, coming to hold the hem of Kindra's t-shirt. She nodded to him, lifting him up and setting him on Sondra's bed before putting him in the knaki pants and the blue buttonup that Erika had picked out for him that evening.   
  
Dressed, she took both children by the hand and lead them from their nurseries. On the way down to the kitchen, they met up with Damon. Nikkie released Kindra's hand to run to Damon, hugging his arms around the lycan's legs.  
  
"Hello, Nikkie." Damon greeted, swinging the little boy up onto his hip. "How are you this morning?"  
  
"Hungry." Nicolas murmered, laying his head on Damon's shoulder.  
  
Sondra hopped at Kindra's feet. "Want up! Want up!"   
  
The young nanny swung the girl up onto her hip, then approached Damon. "Why'd you get out of bed so early? You didn't have to report until ten minutes ago."  
  
"Lucian came and got me." Damon answered, leaning in and kissing her. "We have the whole ring set up already. I didn't wake you when I left, did I?"  
  
"No." Kindra shook her head. She began walking towards the kitchens, Damon following her with Nicolas. "Have you eaten, love?"  
  
"Uh-uh."  
  
"What about Lucian?"  
  
"Doubt it."

* * *

Well, what do you think for the first chapter of the rest of their lives? Are you happy with me or not? Do you like it, love it, hate it? Tell me in a review!!  
  
The Lady Mage 


	15. Chapter 15

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
AUTHOR NOTES: Hello, and welcome to chapter 15! Thank you so much for the support you guys have shown! You're awesome! Okay! NOW the story picks up! Read, enjoy, review!  
  
DISCLAIMER: I, The Lady Mage, do NOT own Underworld or any of the many dynamic characters contained therein. I love them dearly, but sadly, can't afford them.   
  
RATING: PG-13 for a little light cussing. Nothing big- yet.

* * *

"Well, well."  
  
Michael and Lucian looked up from admiring the fighting ring as Selene made her way to them. She looked vastly unimpressed as she made it to them, and stared scrutinizingly out over the straw-covered floor.  
  
"Morning, Selene." Lucian greeted emotionlessly. "I trust you slept well?"  
  
"Fine." she answered casually, fingering a pin holding the ring's door hinge in place. "And your self?"  
  
"Tossed and turned."   
  
"And still going to fight?" Selene spared a small smirk, turning to peer at the lycan-turned-hybrid.  
  
He smirked back. "And win, too."   
  
"Yeah right." Michael muttered under his breath, crossing his arms.  
  
Lucian rose to the young man's challenge. "You think you can beat me?"  
  
"I know I can!"   
  
"And how is it that you know you can beat me?"  
  
Michael only smirked himself. "I have youth on my side."  
  
"And with youth brings clumsiness. Age brings experience." lectured the lycan's alpha.  
  
"Are you saying I'm clumsy?" Kindra walked into the room. Behind her was Damon, carrying Sondra and Nikkie under his arms like footballs.   
  
"No, Kindra." Lucian answered her with a slight smile. "You're not clumsy."  
  
"Oh, but I am?!" Michael chuckled, "Thanks a lot."  
  
"Oh, you're welcome."  
  
Selene couldn't help but chuckle at them, taking Sondra as soon as Damon was close enough. Michael quickly relieved her of their daughter, taking the little girl and lightly tossing her into the air. "Sondra-doll, who is going to win the big fight tonight, hmm? Daddy or old Uncle Lucian?" he asked her.  
  
She giggled, clinging to him. Behind him, Kindra caught Sondra's eyes and gestured to Lucian. Sondra giggled again as Michael kissed her cheek, then pointed to Lucian. "Uncle Lucian win!" she said happily, "And Damon win, too!"  
  
"My daddy win!" Nikkie argued. "Daddy bigger!"  
  
Sondra perked up. "Nuh-uh!"  
  
Nikkie scowled stubbornly. "Yes-huh!"  
  
"Nuh-uh!"  
  
"Yes-huh!"  
  
Sondra's face turned red. "NUH-UH!!"  
  
"Hey, hey!" Selene interupted the two. "That's enough now." She pulled Sondra back into her arms.  
  
In Damon's grasp, Nikkie began to pout. Kindra recognised the expression, and quickly took him just as he burst into tears. Big, fat teardrops rolled down his reddening cheeks as he wrapped his arms around her neck. " . . Papa win! . . " he cried, his voice muffled by Kindra's shoulder. " . . not Michael! Papa win!"   
  
"Hush, hush, now." Kindra murmered to him, pulling him back to look at him. "Venezs, Amour, regard ce qui un visage terrible vous faites quand vous pleurez. (Come, love, look what an awful face you make when you cry.)"   
  
Nikkie whimpered once more, settling himself back down against her shoulder. "Je veux la victoire de Papa! (I want Papa to win!)"  
  
"Ah, Amour, votre Papa gagnera. Pas plus ne dechire, hmm? (Oh, Love, your Papa will win. No more tears, hmm?)"  
  
"What is the commotion in here?" The little group looked up as Erika and Marcus came into the room. Erika was quickly at Kindra's side, pulling Nikkie into her arms.   
  
"Why are you crying?" she asked him. She looked at Kindra. "What happened?"  
  
Marcus gently mussed his son's hair. "You didn't fall, did you? Did Kindra drop you?" The Elder dodged away from Kindra as she swatted at him. "Just kidding!"   
  
"He and Sondra had an argument." Selene answered, holding a chastised two-year old in her arms.  
  
"Michael started it." Luciam mumbled, eyeing Erika as she turned her set of angry, violet eyes in the younger hybrid's direction.  
  
"I did not! Hey- Erika- I-" Michael glared at Lucian. "You ass."  
  
Lucian and Marcus both laughed aloud, while Selene and Damon chuckled. Kindra rolled her eyes, reaching out to straighten Nikkie's hair.  
  
"Sondra indique que son Papa gagnera, mais mon Papa gagnera! (Sondra says her Papa will win, but my Papa will win!)" the little boy spat. He looked up at Marcus. "Vous gagneraz, non? (You will win, no?)"  
  
Being the daughter of Selene, Sondra was not so quick to give up the fight- her mother glaring or not. "MY PAPA WILL WI- MMPH-MNPH MMPH!"  
  
"That's enough!" Michael stated firmly, then removed his hand from his daughter's mouth.   
  
"Look, neither will win, okay?" Damon announced. "Lucian will win. No more fights."   
  
The two children paused, then both shrugged, satisfied. Lucian laughed again, clapping Damon on the back, then stepping into the ring to give it one last once-over.  
  
"Come on, mes poupees. (my dolls)" Kindra said, collecting Sondra and Nikkie. "Let's go upstairs where you can play, bien?"  
  
"Oui! (Yes!)" Sondra yipped. "Jeu! (Play!)"  
  
"Nous voulons jouer! (We want to play!)" said Nikkie.   
  
"Allow me to lighten your load." Damon said, taking Sondra and putting her on his shoulders before following Kindra from the room.  
  
The rest of the group was fairly silent, until finally, Michael spoke up. "I still say I'll beat you."

* * *

His heart was pumping so loudly in his chest that he feared someone would hear it. He couldn't get found now! Not until he could get back outside- or at least discover a worthy hiding place. He should never have come here, never taken on such a huge, stupid risk. Why had he talked himself into sneaking into the very castle of his enemies?!  
  
Someone was coming- he could hear the footsteps coming down the massive hall. Kraven shoved himself back behind the tapestry, flattening his body against the panneling behind, and hoping to God that whoever came would not see him.  
  
The footsteps reached him, then paused. His heart jumped.   
  
"Come along, Sondra. Don't dawdle." a soft, gentle voice murmered.  
  
He heard the sound of little shoes tapping on the wooden floors before he heard a little girl's voice. "We play, Kim-drah?"   
  
"Of course." said the first voice. "But we must wait for Damon and Nikkie."  
  
Kraven scowled. They were still standing- not three feet from him- and until this Damon person showed up with this Nikkie, they weren't going to leave. His scowl deepened as his leg began to fall asleep.

* * *

Kindra and Sondra didn't wait long. Damon was only a floor behind them, Nikkie slung onto his back. He came down the hallway, stopping by Kindra to kiss her cheek. He was about to say something- probably something teasing and witty as was his way- when a new and foul odor hit his nose.  
  
"Do you smell that?" he asked, sniffing the air around them, then wincing. "It stinks."  
  
"What is it?" Kindra asked, smelling the air more delicately with a nose that wasn't as sensitive.   
  
"Smells like a damn vampire." Damon spat.  
  
Kindra hissed. "Your _MATE_ is a vampire!"   
  
The young lycan immediatly backed off. "I didn't mean it like that! Kindra- Kindra, don't walk off! Kindra!" But the girl was already at the other end of the hall, Nikkie and Sondra with her.   
  
At the end of the hallway, she turned to him. "If you think vampires smell so damn much, you can go sleep with your kin tonight, and leave mine alone!" And she slammed the nursery door shut behind her.   
  
"Damnit." Damon muttered. He could still smell whatever it was that was turning his stomach- or was his stomach clenching because he'd just hurt his mate's sensitive feelings? God, she'd been so damn touchy lately. He shrugged to himself, ignoring the smell as he hurried down the hall to apologize before Kindra took it to heart.

* * *

Behind the tapestry, Kraven sighed in relief, watching the young lycan run after the pretty vampire and the two children he had seen. Coast clear, he came out from behind the old fabric, hurried down the hall, picked a door, and slipped inside to hide.

* * *

So, what do you think? What are your thoughts? What do you think will happen? Will Kindra forgive Damon? And why is she 'so damn touchy' anymore? Will Kraven be caught? And if so, by whom? (dramatic music plays)  
  
We'll see next time on . . . Second Chances.  
  
The Lady Mage 


	16. Chapter 16

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
AUTHOR NOTES: Hello, and welcome to chapter sixteen! Thankyou so much for the lovely reviews! I'm really enjoying writing this as much as I hope you enjoy reading it, and FINALLY, the story moves! Took me enough time, huh? Thanks to VampyricAngel21 and LadyK for all the help and feedback- and just listening to me ramble now and then . . . well, all the time, but you get the idea. Love you guys! Oh, and I've put all the French into italics so you can just glance and know. . . yeah. Okay.  
  
Read, enjoy, review!  
  
DISCLAIMER: . . . . you should know by now that I don't own this. If I did, this would be book 2, baby. Yeah!  
  
RATING: PG-13 cause I said.

* * *

"Come on, Kindra. Open the door? Please?"  
  
Kindra hardly looked up from Sondra's collection of babydolls, doing her best to ignore her mate.  
  
"I play too?" Nikkie asked, picking up a doll and cradling it like a teddy. Sondra seemed pleased with him, nodded, and lifted a doll of her own to mother.  
  
"Kindra, I didn't mean it like that! Just open the door?" On the other side of the locked door, Damon sighed, running a nervous and frustrated hand through his midnight locks. He contemplated punching the wall, but figured Selene would greatly dissapprove of a new hole. Instead, he settled for a myriad of ugly faces directed at no one in particular- just something to do to vent.  
  
"You know, if you aren't careful, your face will freeze that way."  
  
The young lycan nearly leapt out of his skin, growling instinctually at the two vampiress's standing in the doorway. He scowled at them, then scowled at the closed nursery door. Erika, who had spoken, gave him a concerned look.  
  
"Something wrong?"  
  
"Pissed her off again." he muttered, crossing his arms.  
  
"Again?" Selene repeated. "What did you do this time?"  
  
"Said somethin'."  
  
"What did you say?"  
  
"I'd rather not repeat it in front of either of you." He quickly looked up, knowing they'd get it out of Kindra. Ever since he had marked her, those two had taken her under their wings, allowing her to join their rank as wives. She'd tell them anything. "But I didn't mean it how it came out!"   
  
"I don't care how you meant it!" Kindra shouted through the door, followed by a thump as though a pillow had been thrown at the door.  
  
"Kindra, come on. Just open the door, please?" Damon asked through the door. "I'll do anything! Baby, you know I'm sorry."  
  
"Don't you 'Baby' me, Damon!"   
  
"_Svp, Amour! Je t'aime! Je suis desole! Laissez-moi dedans?_ (Please, Love! I love you! I'm sorry! Just let me in!)"  
  
"_Et comment pouvez-vous m'aimer si je suis juste un vampire?!_ (And how can you love me if I am just a vampire?)" She hissed back to him. "_Vont le chiot parti et odorant de loup!_ (Go away, smelly wolf puppy!)"  
  
"_CHIOT? Je suis plus age que vous!_ (PUPPY? I'm older than you!)"  
  
"_Et toujours une bete odorante de bebe! Allez-vous -en! Je ne vous parlerai pas encore ce soir!_ (And still a smelly baby beast! Go away! I won't speak to you again tonight!)"  
  
Damon fought the urge to whimper. Usually by now, he'd have her back to him. She'd listen to him explain himself, then quietly accept an apology, while giving one of her own. Now, she was sending him away for the night?  
  
Selene put her hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps you should go and stick with Michael and Marcus? We'll talk to her."  
  
"Go on before Lucian catches on that she's upset again." Erika said. "Unless you would like a matching bruise on your other shoulder. Then feel free to stick around."  
  
With a sigh and grunt of resignation, Damon turned and left the suite, heading for the underground.  
  
Once the '_chiot_ _de_ _loup_' was gone, Erika tapped on the nursery door. Sondra opened it, smiling up at her mother and aunt. She stepped aside to let them in, then shut the door behind them before returning to Nikkie and their babies.  
  
Kindra sat on Sondra's bed, trying to finish sewing up one of Damon's shirts. She hardly glanced up at Selene and Erika until they sat on the bed as well. "We were walking down the hall and he said he smelled a damn vampire." she said casually as if discussing such boring topics as the weather.  
  
"A damn vampire?" Erika asked with a deep scowl. "What?"  
  
"We were walking back down the hall. He stopped, said he smelled something _plutot mechant_. (rather nasty)" Kindra explained, tying off her last stitch, then holding the shirt up for inspection. "I asked what. He said it smelled like a damn vampire."   
  
"The little goon." Erika murmered.  
  
"He didn't mean it that way." Kindra said, her voice still sweet and casual.  
  
"Then why the fuss?" Selene asked.  
  
Kindra smirked. "He needs a bit of discipline now and then until he learns what to say and what not- and actions as well." She folded the shirt in her lap. "I'll go down and see about him when I put the children down for their nap. Until then, let him stew."   
  
Erika laughed quietly. "I've taught you well."  
  
"Yes, you have."

* * *

He had heard the young lover's quarrel, and listened with interest from the linen closet he hid within. His ears perked when he heard her voice, or rather, their voices. Them, the two women who had betrayed him.  
  
Selene.  
  
Erika.  
  
Though he did wonder for a few moments what the young Ordoghaz maid was doing with Selene, he quickly dismissed the blonde from his mind, concentrating instead on Selene. Now was his chance- his opportunity to repay his debt to his treacherous queen. He was going to make her pay. Perhaps he couldn't hurt her physically, but he could break her from within.  
  
All he had to do was find her weakness.  
  
He peered out through the crack between the door and its frame, watching Selene and Erika converse quietly for a few seconds before walking together down the hallway. Once the coast was clear, he slinked from his hiding place, slipping into the room next to the closet.  
  
The room he was in was obviously a bedroom suite. It was done up victorian styled like most of the castle, in navy and black velvet. A massive canopy bed dominated the room, piled high with throw pillows to make it look luxurious. The room also contained a desk covered in papers, a chaise with a matching armchair, a few bookcases, and a vanity. But Kraven did not pay any attention to the furniure in the room. Oh, no. What had his attention was sitting innocently on the nightstand.  
  
A picture of Selene, her hybrid, and the little dark-haired child he'd seen earlier.   
  
Selene's _daughter_.

* * *

In the next room, Kindra sat with Sondra and Nikkie. It was finally nearing their 'lunchtime', which meant it was time for them to review the few lessons that Selene and Erika insisted they be taught. Kindra smiled, listening to the two of them quietly sing their alphabets- in French, then in Russian.  
  
Once they were finished, Kindra helped them put away their toys.  
  
"_Qui a faim_? (Who is hungry?)" she asked the two, tossing the last stuffed animal onto Sondra's bed.  
  
"_Je! Je!_ (Me! Me!)" both answered, rushing to her and taking her hands. WIth a smile, she lead them from the nursery, headed for the kitchen, blissfully unaware of the sepant-like man watching her from the keyhole.

* * *

Once the girl was gone- Kindra, he believed was her name- Kraven slithered into the nursery. He paused, taking his time to examine the room. It was the epitome of 'girly' with its pinks and creams, and contained only a few good places to hide.  
  
He sniffed around. He could smell Selene and Erika here- and he could smell Selene's brat, as well as Kindra and the little boy with them. It wreaked of lycan enough to make him want to cover his nose, but he fought the urge in lieu of hiding until the nanny returned with the children.  
  
Only then could he put his slowly-forming plan in motion.

* * *

Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? You like it? You hate it? Tell me in a review!   
  
The Lady Mage 


	17. Chapter 17

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
Hello, and welcome to chapter 17. This one is really short, but it kinda has to be. If I didn't break it off here, it wouldn't make sense. You'll see. Read, enjoy, review!  
  
DISCLAIMER: . . . . I'm not putting these up anymore. If you didn't see it in the first sixteen chapters, you ain't looking for it!  
  
RATING: PG-13 for a little light cussing.  
  


* * *

Selene met Kindra and the children in the hallway, scooping up Sondra when they neared. "Did you have a good lunch, angelface?" she asked, giving her daughter a kiss on the cheek.   
  
"Mm-hm!" Sondra murmered happily. "Kimdra made us samiches." Nikkie, settled comfortably against Kindra's chest, nodded absently as he yawned. Sondra joined him, yawning as well.   
  
"Somebody is tired." Kindra said softly, smoothing Nikkie's hair with her free hand. She looked to Selene. "Where's Erika?"  
  
"In my room. We're going to put them down in there today." answered the vampiress, leading the young nanny into the bedroom.  
  
Erika was spreading a blue and white cloud blanket over Selene and Michael's comforter when they entered. She had already laid out the children's blankies- Sondra's being pink and Nikkie's a light teal. She took Nikkie when Kindra came to her to finish preparing the bed for naptime.  
  
"My little doll." Erika cooed to her son, cuddling him close and kissing his forhead. He smiled in her arms, resting his head against her neck with a soft, affectionate 'Mommy'.  
  
Kindra settled two pillows on the blanket. "_Bien, bebes. Heure pour le sommeil_. (Alright, babies. Time for sleep.)"  
  
Both children playfully groaned as their mothers laid them down and covered them up. Each recieved a kiss before the lights were turned out, and the two were left to drift off to sleep.  
  
Alone.  
  


* * *

Kraven bit his lip to keep from gasping. What luck! The nanny had left the Selene and Erika! The children were all alone! And another big shock to his system: The little boy belonged to Erika! Two birds with one stone on this deal!  
  
Slowly, quietly, carefully he crept from his hiding place, creeping to the bedroom door and peering into the darkness within. It had only been a few minutes, but both children were already fast asleep. Why, they were sitting ducks just waiting for him!   
  
He crept up next to the bed, staring down at the two toddlers. They slept clutching one another, unaware of the dangerous vampire looming above them, too lost in their dreams to notice, too innocent to care.  
  
Now, what to do with them?  
  


* * *

"The fights begin in ten minutes!" Michael called over the sound of the underground. Vampire and lycan filled the room, seated around the ring, eagerly awaiting the bell that would sound the first fight. "Group one: 25 to 100 years, meet with Lucian and Marcus in the All Purpose room!"  
  
Kindra smiled at Damon as he stood up from their shared spot on the front row. The two had had a 'kiss and make up' a half hour ago after she'd settled the children for their nap. He leaned down and gave her a kiss.  
  
"Kick ass." she commanded gently. He smirked wolfishly at her with a nod, then followed the other lycans and vampires in his age group back to the All Purpose.  
  
Erika came and sat next to Kindra when Damon left. "How do you think he'll do?" she asked, offering Kindra some of her blood wine.  
  
The young nanny politely refused the alcohol. "I think he'll make well. He is strong for his age- even Lucian says so. And he has a mate now- that's added incentive to beat the living shit out of another lycanthrope."  
  
"Guess we'll see?" Selene asked, coming and sitting on Erika's other side. She smiled towards Michael who was standing in the ring, waiting.  
  
"We shall." Erika said, gesturing to the fighters filing back in.  
  
Lucian joined Michael in the ring, and handed him a couple of index cards. He took the microphone, and addressed the crowd. "Are you ready?!" The crowd roared and hissed back to him. He handed the mike back to Michael.  
  
"Okay, we have four fighters- three lycan, one vampire." Michael read off the card. "First into the ring are Token-Lycan-54 years, and Jackson-Vampire-78 years." The two fighters stepped into the ring. "We want a clean fight. No transforming, no KILLING. You kill eachother, you are disquallified. DO NOT BREAK THE DAMN RING!"  
  
"AND FOR GOD'S SAKE, DON'T SEND ANYONE FLYING INTO THE DAMN CROWD!" Marcus yelled from across the room.  
  
Michael nodded. "Yeah. What he said."  
  
A few immortals chuckled across the giant room. Michael and Lucian left the ring, locked it closed, and the fights began.  
  


* * *

He could kill them now.   
  
It would be so easy. They wouldn't even know it until they awoke on the other side. He could reach down and tear their little throats open. He could hold the pillows over their little faces. He could snap their little necks like pencils in his hands.  
  
But that would be too easy.  
  
Oh, Selene and Erika would suffer with the loss of their children, but this seemed too quick- a coward's way out. What would he do? Slice their throats, then sneak back out? What would that accomplish? They wouldn't even know who did it! They would probably think someone within their own coven commited the evil deed.  
  
So then, what to do?  
  
Kraven drummed his fingers on his chin, one arm crossed over his chest, as he watched the two hybrids sleep. Suddenly, the little boy stirred. Startled in his thoughts, the idea came to him from the very depths of his twisted mind. He know what to do. The ex-regent smirked devilishly as he reached down to the two toddlers.  
  
With gentle hands, he cupped each face, his touch enough to wake the two. They stared up at him with innocent, questioning eyes. He smiled as sweetly as he could down at them, petting the girl's hair and patting the boy's head.  
  
"Hello, pumpkins . . . " he said quietly to them. "I'm your Uncle Kraven. We're going to go on a little trip . . . "  
  


* * *

Cue the dramatic music! OMG! BAD, BAD MAGE! Big cliffy not nice! Tune in next time!  
  
The Lady Mage  
  
PS- No reviews, no new chapter! 


	18. Chapter 18

Greetings from The Lady Mage.  
  
Hello, and welcome to the next chapter of Second Chances. Yes, I know it is very short! But I had to break it off here for the next chapter to work, which I will being typing on Sunday so look for it around Monday, 'kay?  
  
Oh, and to address a certain review. Someone asked me why they were having fights. Well, the answer is simple to the point of silliness. For the hell of it. I mean, it is their entertainment! Remember in the movie when Pierce and Taylor were fighting? This is like that, but fair, clean, and with a little vampyricy stuck here and there. Fun.   
  
Read, enjoy, review!  
  
Disclaimer: Check chap 1.  
  
Rating: Same as always.  
  


* * *

"Where we go?" Sondra asked quietly, rubbing the sleep from her little brown eyes. She and Nikkie sat on her bed while Kraven went back and forth around the room, collecting together a change of clothes for her. He'd already pulled together a change for Nikkie.  
  
Kraven paused, settling the little pink and blue backpacks down on the teatable. "We are going to go back to my house." he answered softly. "But first, we must play a game. Do you like games?"  
  
"Yes!" both children nodded with enthusiasm.  
  
The vampire smirked at their innocence. They'd never met him, yet were willing to leave with him just for a game. He smiled as sweetly as he could. "Okay, here is the game. We're going to play Sneak. We have to get from this room all the way down to the front door without anyone seeing or hearing us. If someone finds us, we lose." he explained. "We can't lose, okay?"  
  
"We good at hide-go-seek. Scare Mommy." Nikkie said quietly.  
  
"That's good." Kraven said approvingly, helping each child put on their backpack before lifting them up into his arms. "Ready?"  
  
"We ready." Sondra answered.  
  
"Here we go, then." Kraven carried them into the bedroom, then down the hall. He could hear something going on down below the first floor. If most of the coven was there, there wouldn't be many around to catch him. He smirked again, hurrying down the stairs and around them, headed for the kitchens. Better to leave out the back where there were less people.  
  


* * *

"AND LEONE IS THE VICTOR!" Marcus called over the loudspeaker. The crowd of lycan and vampire cheered as the battered and bruised- but still conscious, and therefore, victorious- vampire stepped from the ring. Once outside, he collapsed into his mate's arms. "Congratulations, Leone!"  
  
Lucian and Michael hefted the unconscious body of Torent- a vampire- out of the ring as the next to fighters- lycans- entered in. "Fair fight, boys." Lucian commented to them in passing.  
  
"Sure thing, boss." one returned casually, cracking his knuckles.  
  
Selene, Erika, and Kindra sat watching from the front row. Erika and Kindra wore looks of barely-hidden boredom. Selene was smirking, her eyes on the vampire being dragged from the room, as if he had had it coming for weeks. Kindra sighed quietly, lifting Erika's wrist to see her watch.  
  
"The children should be waking up soon." the young nanny murmered.  
  
"Just the excuse needed." Erika commented. "Let's go check on them. The fights won't be interesting until Marcus beats the fire out of Lucian and Michael."  
  
"Pardon me?" Selene turned to Erika, one dainty eyebrow raised. "And just what makes you think that-"  
  
"Goddess above, you're just like your children." Kindra interrupted, standing. She motioned to Damon and Lucian across the ring. When she held their attention, she gestured to the doors out, then waved. As she walked away, Erika and Selene followed. It wouldn't do for Sondra and Nikkie to awake alone.  
  


* * *

Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? Tell me in a review!  
  
The Lady Mage 


End file.
